The Letter
by Red Witch
Summary: When a top secret mission goes wrong, the only hope the Rangers have may lie with Goose, if he can confront the dark secrets of his past.
1. Part I

**Another disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Rangers characters has been shot into outer space. Here's another warped idea I had that I just had to get out. **

**The Letter**

"Captain Foxx, how nice to see you again," Ambassador Magdella Domani greeted the Galaxy Ranger Captain as he walked in the hallway of the Taurus Five Space Station.

"Ambassador," Zach nodded a polite nod.

"What brings you here?" Domani asked Zach.

"Routine patrol," Zach explained. "We needed some fuel. Plus Commander Cain just called us in. He wants to see us. You?"

"I'm here on League business," She told him. "How's Commander Walsh?"

"He's fine," Zach told her. "I think he misses you."

"That's good to hear," She smiled. "Cain's office is down the hall. You'd better not keep him waiting no matter how tempted you are."

"I will," Zach nodded. They parted company and Zach entered Commander Cain's office. Zach was not happy that he had to accomidate the officer. Normally Commander Walsh was in charge of the Galaxy Rangers but every now and then they were forced to go on missions assigned by the Board of Leaders. While on patrol Zach had gotten a coded message that there was an urgent situation and that he alone had to go to Commander Cain to recieve further instructions.

Commander Cain was notorious for his laid back attitude and almost flaunting disregard for authority despite the fact that he was one of the military's most highest ranking officials as well as a man with great influence and power. Power that was often implied he obtained by less than honorable means.

And when Zach walked into Cain's office nothing he saw implied otherwise.

He couldn't believe how luxurious the office was. Plush chairs, gold lamps and expensive artwork on the walls. "You wanted to see me…" He saw a gold statue of a mermaid in the corner. "Sir?"

"What? I like mermaids," Cain gave him a look. "Hot looking babes with fish tails amuse me. Especially if they have big breasts."

"I'm glad **something** does," Zach grunted, obviously in distaste at the opulent wealth around him.

"Let's call a spade a spade Captain Foxx," Commander Cain grinned as he sat down at his desk. "You think I'm a money grubbing degenerate who has no right to wear this uniform. Oh it doesn't shock me. Believe me I've heard a lot **worse** from people higher up and more powerful than you."

"I just don't think an officer should be more concerned with his cash flow than the safety of Earth," Zach narrowed his eyes. "I've heard a **lot** about you and quite frankly what I see isn't helping."

"Yet you have no problems working for a man like Commander Walsh," Cain shook his head.

"There's a big difference between the two of you," Zach growled. "Commander Walsh is a man of honor and integrity."

"No Captain, the difference is while I play games for money he plays games with **human lives**," Cain became serious for a moment. But only a moment. "Well there was this one time when I was in Vegas but still…"

"Commander is there a reason you called me here?" Zach interrupted. "I don't find personal wealth and power plays interesting."

"Well I think you might be interested in this one," Cain took out a folder. "You've heard of Senator Magnus Aldeverosa? He died two days ago."

"So?" Zach asked.

"He died of a heart attack while in bed with his secretary," Cain said. "Needless to say his wife didn't take the news that well. She was so angry she decided to prove to the world that her husband wasn't a saint and she gave the press a lot of interesting details. And not all of them about her husband's love life."

"Just what kind of details are we talking about?" Zach asked.

"The illegal, immoral and extremely gray area kind," Cain showed him a folder. "How's this for starters? Aldeverosa was one of the backers behind the original Supertrooper project at Wolf Den Base."

"Now that I didn't know," Zach frowned.

"Neither did the general public until now," Cain said. "And that's not the only thing that's making the Board of Leaders nervous. Seems the good senator was never really crazy about Walsh running the program. In fact we have documents that now prove he was a backer behind another secret Supertrooper base in Australia."

"I've heard of it," Zach frowned. "Commander Walsh shut that place down."

"Before he did Aldeverosa took a few things home from work," Cain said. "As you can see from that inventory list on page seven he picked up items from both Wolf Den and the Australian base."

"My god this proves that…" Zach's jaw dropped when he read the paper.

"He had his own secret supply of Supertrooper Juice," Cain remarked. "In at least eight lovely flavors. Problem is no one know exactly where his stash is. Or what he did with it."

"The possibilities are a bit frightening," Zach grumbled.

"There is one lead which we've managed to hide from the press," Cain showed him some data. "These are some coordinates we've found."

"For what?" Zach asked.

"We don't know," Cain said. "That's where you and your team come in. We need you to check it out. I don't need to tell you that this mission is top secret. So don't bring in your alien ambassador friends."

"We'll leave at once," Zach reluctantly saluted and turned to leave.

"By the way Captain," Cain added. "As you go back to your ship and fly off into the unknown why don't you play a game of twenty questions to pass the time? In fact you can ask Ranger Gooseman what happened to the Supertroopers that got **A's** on their tests and how they were rewarded. I'm sure he'd **love** to tell you all about that."

Zach was puzzled but didn't let it show. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get my team together, Sir."

"Go ahead," Cain smiled as Zach left the room. "I think it's time I made a phone call or two…"

Not long after Zach was briefing his team about their latest mission on Ranger One. "Senator Alderverosa…I remember him," Shane growled. "The only reason he didn't want me frozen was that he wanted to have me dissected like a biology specimen. Good riddance. That's one less bastard I have to worry about."

"Yes and now we have more problems to worry about since it's likely that sometime during the past ten years the not so good senator used that Supertrooper Juice for something," Doc remarked. "Or sold it to someone who did."

"So there could be more Supertroopers out there than anyone figured," Zach agreed. "And we have to find out if that's true or not."

"Oh no…" Shane groaned. "It figures. I should have known something like this would have happened."

"Goose?" Niko raised an eyebrow.

"Remember that incident with the General a month ago?" Shane asked. "I had a talk with Cheyenne…She thought she sensed more Supertroopers out there. But she didn't know where they were or what they were like."

"And you decided to wait until **now** to tell us?" Zach glared at him.

"There wasn't exactly that much to tell," Shane gave him a look. "Besides you know how testy some of the senators get about the Supertrooper Program's failure."

"Yeah Captain what was he supposed to do?" Doc asked. "Go up to Commander Walsh and say, 'Hey Commander, my supposedly dead genetic donor Cheyenne is alive and has become an evolved super powered being living under the sea. She thinks there may be more Supertroopers running around, isn't that great?'"

"I mean he should have told **us,**" Zach said.

"Captain even Cheyenne didn't know anything for sure," Shane told him. "And until there was proof I wasn't about to say anything to get you guys in an even deeper mess!"

"I see your point," Zach sighed. "But while we are on the subject is there **anything** **else** she mentioned that you haven't told us?"

"Well…" Shane reluctantly let out a breath. "She did say that I may be the only one to fulfill a prophecy that would unite the Supertroopers and break a cycle of madness and insanity."

"Okay we were better off not knowing," Doc threw up his hands. "That lady has given you a lot of things to work on in your spare time, hasn't she Gooseman?"

"You have no idea how much pressure I'm under," Shane groaned. "On the one hand Commander Walsh and the Board of Leaders wants me to hunt down the Supertroopers. On the other Cheyenne wants me to unite them…"

"And on a third hand you have the surviving Supertroopers all wanting your head," Doc added.

"Whatever Cheyenne wants or not we have to investigate," Zach told Shane. "Commander Cain made that perfectly clear."

"Why did he assign the mission and not Walsh?" Doc asked.

"Who knows?" Shane shrugged. "Cain's always trying to butt in where he's not wanted. He's always trying to get close to Senator Garson."

"The vice president of the League of Planets?" Doc asked.

"Yes and Garson was also the one who ordered me to hunt down the other Supertroopers if I became a Galaxy Ranger," Shane sighed. "Anything else Cain mentioned to you Captain?"

"He did make one odd remark," Zach frowned. "Something about Supertroopers getting A's on their tests. Goose what did he mean by that?"

A look went on Shane's face that Zach had never seen before. It was a look of horror and pure shock. He composed himself quickly. "It's nothing. Probably one of his stupid jokes."

"All right," Zach decided to let the matter drop. "Let's check the coordinates Cain gave us."

"Gotcha…" Shane nodded as they prepared to go into hyperspace.

_"Help them Shane…Help them…" _

A strong flash thundered into Shane's mind. It knocked his brain around in his skull. "Agghh…"

_Help them Shane…Please, there's not much time…_

"Goose are you all right?" Niko noticed, concerned.

"Yeah it's nothing…" Shane growled. It was over before he knew it.

"Shane are you…?" Niko asked softly.

"I'm **fine** Niko," Shane growled. "Preparing to jump into hyperspace."

Zach also noticed it but said nothing. "Commencing jump." He pressed the button activating the engines.

And that was when things went to hell.

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"I told you to never call me here!" Senator Eric Wheiner snapped at the phone in his office. The vid screen was purposely scrambled and all that could be heard was a voice garbled by some kind of technology.

"Don't worry, I have the tracer on," the voice said. "No one will know it's me. I thought you would have realized by now that I am a lot more careful in covering my tracks than you Senator."

"Are you always going to harp on me about **that?"** Wheiner hissed. "It was over five years ago! Get over it!"

"Get over it?" The voice went higher. "I specifically told you to infect Gooseman with Batch 22 and you couldn't even get **that **right!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know Gooseman wasn't in the barracks?" Wheiner snapped.

"I don't know Wheiner, how about a little invention called a **security camera?"** The voice hissed. "Just a few minutes looking around and you would have known **exactly** where Gooseman was!"

"Listen," Wheiner hissed into the phone. "I've taken a lot of crap over the years because of you. You're the one who told me to use the formula! You knew what it would really do! You lied to me about the effects! I was just a patsy! I don't know why I haven't told everyone the truth and thrown you to the wolves!"

"Oh I can think of a few **million** reasons why you haven't," The voice sneered. "I'm just calling to inform you that your blackmailing days are over. I've decided to take care of Gooseman myself."

"What do you mean?" Wheiner asked.

"Just what you think I mean," The voice said. "By the end of the week…We will worry about one less Supertrooper. The most dangerous one of them all. And his nosy friends. So keep your mouth shut Wheiner and maybe, just maybe you'll be able to put this mess you've made behind you once and for all!"

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"It was sabotage all right," Shane grunted. "Ship's totaled. We're lucky we made it this far."

The Rangers were staring at their ruined ship. Somehow they had landed on a rocky, nearly barren yet cool planet. "I can't believe someone deliberately sabotaged the hyper drive while we were on Taurus Five," Zach swore. "Who'd do such a thing?"

"Besides all our enemies?" Doc joked. "I'm gonna take a wild guess as to someone who didn't want us poking our Galaxy Ranger noses into someone's private business."

"Well at least we're at the right place," Zach grunted as he looked around. "According to the coordinates this rock is where the action is but I don't see any."

"Scanners indicate pockets of high seismic activity as well as radioactivity," Niko told him as she used her scanner. "But that's not the worst of it."

"It gets worse?" Doc quipped. "You mean being shaken and fried isn't the **worst **thing that can happen to us on this planet?"

"I'm afraid not," Niko said. "GV download the information…"

Doc had managed to download GV, Zach's personal AI assistant as well as the AI guiding Ranger One into the scanner. "As we entered the system my sensors indicated severe solar rifts at the red sun in the heart of this galaxy's solar system. Upon further analysis I have deducted that the sun is in its final stages of decomposition and will self destruct within the week."

"Say what?" Doc raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean self destruct? Self destruct as in **die?**"

"Self destruct as in explode…" GV explained. "Or there is a ten percent chance that it will implode. Either way this entire solar system will be destroyed."

"Oh…Goody…" Doc moaned putting his hand on his face. "Captain please tell me that you sent out a distress call."

"I would but as you know a lot of the systems were fried and…" Zach sighed.

"Wonderful," Doc grumbled. "And to top it off we didn't bring the horses this trip."

"No, but we do have that experimental land rover as long as it's not damaged," Niko said.

"Captain!" Shane called out. He had wandered over to a large ridge. "Over here!"

"What is it?" Zach asked as the Rangers walked over. He saw the remains of a large building. "Oh boy…"

"According to my scanners this is where a lot of the radiation originated," Doc pointed. "Fortunately most of it is being contained by a large force field of some kind."

"Most of it?" Shane asked.

"There's some kind of degeneration in the field," Doc said. "A small crack if you will where some is leaking through."

"I can see the generators from here," Zach turned on some binoculars and witnessed the generators surrounding the base. "And that's not all I see…"

There were a few skeletons littering the inside of the force field. And one large skeleton nearby with some kind of torn coverall. "Some kind of secret unit it looks like," Doc said.

"Not just any unit…" Shane recognized the coveralls. "Niko…"

"All right…" She touched her implant and focused on her powers. "There was an accident…A reaction in the main chamber. No one was prepared for it. It happened during an experiment when one of the…When someone tried to absorb too much power but couldn't…"

"Absorb power? You mean…?" Doc began.

"They were making Supertroopers…" Zach realized. "It was an illegal Supertrooper breeding camp."

"It's gets worse Captain…" Niko frowned. "I'm sensing something…Some of them…Are still alive."

"Let me see if I get this straight," Doc rubbed his nose. "We're trapped on a planet with a lot of radioactivity that may explode into a billion tiny pieces in under a week with a group of wild Supertroopers running around that will tear us into bits? And worse, there's a great chance that we've been set up and no one knows where we are. Am I right? This is so not good."

Niko looked walked over to Shane. He looked pensive. "Goose…?"

"Cheyenne…She called to me," Shane said softly. "She begged me to help them. That means at least a few of them have some of her blood in them which means…"

Niko put her hand on his shoulder. "I have to try," Shane told his friends. "We have to find them and save them."

Zach let out a breath. "Goose, you don't know anything about them. There is a chance that they may be too far gone to…"

"No," Shane narrowed. "If they couldn't be saved…I don't think Cheyenne wouldn't have called out to me like that. We have to help them Niko."

"Yeah but who's going to help **us?**" Doc groaned.

**Things aren't looking good are they? Wait and see what happens next! **


	2. Part II

**Part II**

They saw the ship crash in the distance and they ran to investigate it. "Status," The leader grunted.

One looked through the cracked lenses of the binoculars. "It appears to be a League ship," She reported. "There are four survivors. All human."

"What's the status of the ship?"

"I'm not sure but it looks totaled. By their body language it appears that their scanners are working. They might surmise that there are survivors."

"Were they shot down?" A third asked. "Maybe the war has come here?"

"I don't know. I don't see any outside blaster marks," The leader took the binoculars for himself. "It seems that there might have been an explosion on the inside. But I can't tell much from this distance."

"What do we do?" The third asked.

"We have the element of surprise," The leader said. "At the very least they may have supplies we can use. Best scenario situation, we can repair the ship and leave the planet. We take them out. No survivors."

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"Can't you just fix it?" Doc asked.

"It's not just a matter of fixing it," Shane told him. "If it was just fixing it I could do it. But one, I'd need a whole new engine and two we need fuel. That sabotage burned out our fuel as well as wrecked the engine."

"What about the comm. system?" Zach asked.

"I sent a message out but I'm not so sure we'll get through," Doc said. "Weird solar flares are interfering."

"If it was just us on this rock I'd recommend we split up and see what we can scavenge," Shane growled. "But if there are Supertroopers here we need to stick together as much as possible and conserve our charges."

"How about supplies?" Zach asked.

"We have emergency rations for about five days," Niko said. "We might find some hidden source of water if it's not contaminated."

"Since we're all gonna blow up in about seven days chow time is a moot point," Doc grumbled.

"See if your scanners can find a source of water anyway," Zach told him. "Doc you and Goose try to…"

He was interrupted by a blast of laser fire narrowly missing his left ear. "Snipers!" He shouted. "Everyone get down and head for cover!"

"Didn't waste time did they?" Shane growled as he ducked behind a large rock and readied his blaster. He noticed that the shots were being fired from a large rock formation nearby. "Couldn't have landed in a better place for an ambush either!"

"Hold your fire until you can get a clear shot," Zach ordered. "Don't waste your ammunition!"

"I sense two of them behind that rock there," Niko pointed.

"Fine…" Zach growled as he activated his thunderbolt. He blasted the rock into pieces, revealing their attackers. "Now we're gonna…What in the world?"

Two young girls, about seven years old wearing tattered green coveralls and boots stood fired on them. Both had long red and brown hair down past their shoulders, gold eyes and chocolate brown skin. The only physical difference between the two was that one had red streaks under her eyes and the other had a strange purple mark tattooed on her left eye.

And they were both armed with large laser rifles in their hands which they handled expertly.

"They're girls…" Doc gasped. He barely dodged a round of laser fire. "Well armed girls!"

"Maybe I should have a talk with them?" Niko lightly touched her badge. _Stop firing, we will not harm you.._

"AIEEE!" The girls screamed in fear at her telepathic message. "Psychic Enforcer! Psychic Enforcer!"

"They're terrified of me," Niko realized as she stopped.

Unfortunately it didn't stop the girls from firing. If anything it made them panic and start to fire rounds more rapidly. "Good job Niko…" Doc groaned as he barely ducked in time from some laser fire.

"That's it," Shane touched his badge and let himself get hit by laser fire. He changed into his silver metal form and rushed the girls, destroying their lasers.

"Stop! Stop! We submit!" The girls screamed, clearly realizing they were outmatched. "We submit." They cringed and fell to their hands and knees in a submissive pose.

"NEVER SUBMIT! NEVER SURRENDER!"

A rugged thin twelve year old Supertrooper male with long black hair pointed a rifle at them. He was also wearing the same kind of coverall and had a red bandana on his head. "You can't hurt me!" He snarled. "I'm already dead…"

Shane rushed the boy and broke his weapon. He changed back. "You know what I am," Shane snarled as he grabbed the boy by the collar. "And what I can do. Cool it kid."

"YOU CAN'T KILL ME!" The boy screamed. "I'M ALREADY DEAD!"

That's when Shane saw what was on the front of his coverall. It had been partially hidden by his long hair. "No…"

"I'm not going to let you beat me!" The boy howled. He tried to bite Shane but was unsuccessful.

"You've already lost," Shane narrowed his eyes. With a swift move he flipped the boy over onto his stomach. He grabbed the boy's arms behind him and twisted them as well as holding the boy down using his knee on his back. "Now submit!"

"LET ME GO!" The boy screamed and fought like a wild animal. "LET ME GO!"

"SUBMIT!" Shane snarled, holding him down.

"Goose!" Zach moved to stop him but Niko intercepted.

"Captain! Let him handle this," Niko told him.

"But…" Zach began.

"I know," She said looking at Shane. "But this is **his** world. He knows how to handle them better than any of us could. Trust him."

The boy screamed and writhed but Shane held him fast. "You will **submit!**" Shane barked. "That's an **order!**"

"Screw you! I'm dead! You can't give the **dead **orders!" The boy howled.

"Kilbane he **beat** us," The girl with the red streaks whimpered. "We can't beat him! He's an S Class!"

"Kilbane?" Doc did a double take. "Oh I don't like the sound of this."

"Well that explains a lot," Shane growled. "Probably a freaking clone of…All right you, state your name. STATE YOUR NAME!" Shane applied pressure on the nape of his neck.

"R-Ryder Kilbane," The boy hissed reluctantly.

"Listen Ryder," Shane hissed back. "Do you know what I am? What I can do to you if I want? Respond!"

"You…You are an S Class Supertrooper…" Ryder glared at him. "You…Have the right to kill us."

"You are right," Shane told him. "I do. But I will **not** do that. Instead I'm invoking Challenge Rights. Do you know what they are? If you do state them!"

"In a challenge…The superior trooper has the right to take command over the conquered," The boy admitted. "The conquered must obey without question."

"Correct," Shane growled. "Now I think we can both agree that that is much more preferable than death. Or do you wish for your subordinates to suffer for your resistance?"

Ryder looked at the young girls. Their faces were stiff but their eyes betrayed their panic. "I…Submit…" The boy reluctantly stopped struggling.

Shane let go and stood up. "He won't give us any trouble now," Shane told the other rangers.

"That's a relief," Doc groaned and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Shane stood in front of the girls. "You two. State your names."

"Hari," The girl with purple streaks spoke clearly.

"Mata," Her twin with the red streaks spoke. Both girls stood at attention instantly.

"Are there any others in your group?" Shane barked. Both girls looked nervous.

"If you mean are there any others that will attack you then the answer is **negative**," Ryder barked as he stood up. "We are the only viable ones left."

"How long have you been out here?" Shane asked.

"Twenty five monthly cycles by the end of the week," Ryder told him.

"That's over two years," Shane frowned. "I'm guessing this was about the time the base was destroyed?"

"Not long after we were…" Ryder gulped. "Put out here we saw an explosion in the distance. At first we thought it was an attack until…"

"Did any others survive?" Shane asked.

"There was one B Class that kind of made it out but he…" Mata choked. "The radiation was too strong for him."

"I see," Shane thought. "Are any of you seriously injured?"

"We're fine," Ryder growled. "We are not weak."

"Compared to me you are," Shane gave him a look. "Stay here. We're going to discuss what to do with you."

Ryder grudgingly made his way to the other girls and stood with them. Shane went off to the side with the other rangers. "Still don't know enough about them to figure out if they're worth saving Captain?" Shane asked bitterly.

"I deserved that," Zach admitted. "So are these kids are the only survivors? Why were they out here instead of inside the base? Was it some kind of test?"

"They weren't in the facility…" Shane said. "Because they were abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Zach realized something as he saw the letter on their coveralls. "That's what the A stands for doesn't it?"

"I don't understand," Doc asked. "I thought those Supertroopers that didn't measure up were frozen in the Cryocrypt."

"Those that were abandoned…And could still fight were used in…other ways," Shane said softly. "Mostly as training tools. They were set loose in an area and a squad of viable troopers were sent to hunt them down and execute them."

"That's…" Niko was furious. "That's barbaric!"

"There was another reason," Shane added. "If one of those abandoned troopers could stay alive…fight off those sent to hunt him. And prove himself worthy again…He was allowed back into the program. In all my time at Wolf Den, only **one** Trooper was able to do that."

"You?" Doc asked.

"No," Shane looked at Ryder. "I had some close calls but I was never put on the list. Someone **else** did that."

Zach realized the truth. "Ryker Kilbane."

"He took out two squads and a heavily armored tank before Max was able to convince the Board of Leaders to get him back in the program," Shane sighed.

"How many times did these hunts go on?" Niko asked.

"Not as many as what happened at the Australian Base," Shane admitted. "Ten times it happened at Wolf Den. Three of them were before I was old enough to participate."

"How many…" Niko began before she stopped, realizing that Shane was not ready to talk about that just yet.

He looked at Ryder. "That's explains why they've survived so long out here. If anyone is stubborn enough to survive all of that…It would be a Kilbane."

"So what? He's a clone or something?" Doc asked.

"Or something," Shane remarked. "His scent is different so they might have done some modifications."

Niko asked. "Goose why are those girls so terrified of me?"

"Back at Wolf Den we had a group of psychics that were trained to keep us in line when they got older," Shane told her. "It was more like a way of Supertroopers self governing themselves and we didn't need as many guards as we progressed in our training."

"But when the incident happened that backfired big time, am I right?" Doc asked.

"More ways than one," Shane sighed. "A lot of the psychics didn't react well to X-Factor. They didn't survive the change. Only a handful of Supertroopers actually were able to adapt to the gas even if they did go bonkers."

"So now we found some survivors," Zach sighed. "All right let's try to find out some information about what went on here."

"We should also ask the kids about the lay of the land here," Doc pointed out. "Could always use a guide."

"Let's get some information out of them first," Zach agreed. "Goose any protocol I should know about?"

"Establish yourself in command immediately," Shane said. "They'll follow orders."

Zach nodded. They walked over to the young ones. "All right I'm Captain Zachery Foxx of the Galaxy Rangers and it appears that I am your new Commanding Officer for now. You already know Shane Gooseman. Those are Rangers Doc Hartford and Niko. You'll answer our questions and obey our orders. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" All three children answered with the obedience of well trained drill sergeants.

"At ease. We need to know about your base and how it was destroyed. How old are you?" Zach asked.

"He means from date of decant, not just date of viability," Shane added.

"I am seven cycles and the twins are four," Ryder told them. "I am Number Five of Batch 3 and the Twins are Experimental Batch 13."

"Accelerated growth?" Doc raised an eyebrow. "But why didn't they just grow them to full adult status?"

"It's not like in the cartoons," Shane explained. "The biology isn't that simple. Growth acceleration has to be done in stages or else the body could break down or organs won't work properly."

"We didn't grow very well during the acceleration stages," Hari said. "That's why…" A look from Ryder shut her up.

"How many batches were there in all?" Shane asked.

"Including the experimental ones twenty…Sir," Ryder added the last part hesitantly. "There were about seventy five troopers created in all. Before the accident."

"No other survivors?" Zach asked.

"All the viable ones were in there when the base exploded," Ryder pointed to the ruins of the base. "They sent us out here about seven hours earlier. The hunt was scheduled twenty four hours after we were released."

"Standard procedure," Shane nodded. "Giving them time to find the weapons catches and rations as well as a head start in memorizing the terrain."

"Why would they do that?" Doc asked.

"It wouldn't be much of a hunt if it was too easy," Shane gave him a dark smile. "I take it that's how you survived these past two years?"

"The rations ran out about a year ago," Ryder answered. "We've been surviving on edible fungus, some fish and small rodents."

"Fish? So there's water here?" Doc asked.

"There's a pool down by…" Hari pointed behind her.

"Forget it, it's tainted by radiation," Ryder said sharply. He pointed in another direction. "There's another underground water source about a half mile that way."

"Is that where your camp is?" Shane asked.

"We don't really have a camp," Ryder said glaring at him. "We've been moving around a lot. We weren't sure we were the only ones until recently. That and looking for fresh supplies."

"Sound strategy," Shane narrowed his eyes. He was suspicious but said nothing.

"I have a question. Were you shot down in the war?" Hari asked tentatively.

"War? What war?" Doc asked.

"The war with the aliens," Hari replied.

"What aliens?" Doc asked.

"All of them," She replied.

"All of them? You mean you think that there's a war with…?" Doc began.

"That's why we were created isn't it?" Ryder asked bitterly.

"Who told you about the war?" Zach asked.

"The Controllers," Mata told him.

"Who are the Controllers?" Shane asked.

"Didn't **you **have Controllers?" Ryder looked at Shane in surprise.

"I had a commander and his subordinates who created and trained me," Shane said. "His name is Commander Walsh. He worked with two men named Max Sawyer and Dr. Nagata."

"You **saw** your controllers?" Hari gasped. "You knew their **names?"**

"Of course I did," Shane was puzzled. "You **didn't?"**

"No," Ryder was surprised. "They were always behind the Wall. Watching us and giving us and the guards orders."

"The Wall?" Niko asked.

"What we called that big reflective glass they hid behind," Mata explained. "So you actually saw the people that created you? You **interacted **with them?"

"Yes," Shane said. "They trained me."

"That never happened with us," Mata blinked. "Maybe that's why you're…"

Ryder made a hissing sound that silenced her. "Why he's what?" Niko asked. "Well?"

"Why he's so different…" Mata finished. "He even smells…Human."

"Last I checked Supertroopers are human, sort of," Doc shrugged.

"No, we are **not,**" Ryder glared at him. Then Shane.

"Are there any areas that are like some kind of junk piles?" Shane asked, deciding to ignore it. "You know where there's a lot of machinery?"

"Yeah there's an old scrap yard where they threw out a lot of stuff about a half mile from here," Mata said. "But it's all junk."

"Let me be the judge of that," Shane grunted. "We might be able to salvage something after all."

"All right," Zach nodded. "We'll split up into two groups. Niko, you and I take the twins and scout out the water supply. Goose, take Doc and Ryder over to the scrap yard and see what you can get. Is the rover operational?" He referred to the small transport vessel that was attached to the ship.

"As operational as it will ever be," Shane shrugged.

"We'll meet back at the ship in two hours," Zach said. "Come on."

The twins didn't move. Shane let out a breath. "Do what he says." They followed Zach and Niko a ways.

"Come on," Ryder growled grouchily as he went ahead.

"Wait for us right here while we get the transport vehicle," Shane ordered. The boy folded his arms but obeyed.

"They've certainly warmed up to you," Doc told Shane as they went to get the vehicle. "Is there something going on I should know about? It's almost like they hate you. Why?"

"There are differences between me and the other Supertroopers," Shane said softly. "Most humans can't see them. Maybe Commander Walsh can see most of them but…"

He let out a breath. "I'm not like the other Supertroopers any more. I've spent too much time with humans. That's changed me. Even Cheyenne isn't as…damaged as I am and she's so…"

"Damaged?" Doc asked. "Being human is…damaged?"

"It is for a Supertrooper," Shane sighed. "Don't ask. Let's just get this over with."

"Are you always this **slow?**" Ryder challenged, shouting after them.

"I think I liked it better when they were shooting at us," Doc groaned.

**Things just keep getting worse don't they? Hang on and see what happens next! **


	3. Part III

**Part III**

Senator Wheiner was a man who believed that he was destined for great things. He was a man whose money, station in life and breeding entitled him to power and wealth. He had plenty of it but he wanted more.

And he was sick of waiting around for it.

"Senator Garson," Wheiner burst into the Vice President's office. "I think it's time you fulfilled your promise in allowing me to join your group of…"

He turned and saw to his shock Commander Cain casually relaxing in a nearby chair. "What is he doing here?"

"Me? I had an appointment," Cain told him. "What are you doing here? And what group are you talking about? A golf group? Bird watching group? Oh I get it, you've decided to follow in your daughter's footsteps and form a rock band."

"Wheiner…" Garson growled, looking and sounding more like JR Ewing without a ten gallon hat. "What the hell are you blabbing about? Can't you see that I am in a very important meeting here?"

"Yeah you could have blurted out some very important secrets to someone who wasn't in the loop," Commander Cain said sarcastically.

"I uh…" Wheiner coughed. "You see…"

"Never mind," Cain waved. "As I was informing Senator Garson here we may end up with a few more Supertroopers loose than we figured."

"What do you mean?" Wheiner blinked.

"There's a good chance the late senator Alderverosa was secretly running a Supertrooper breeding program," Garson explained. "And Cain has sent the Galaxy Rangers to investigate."

"Are you insane? You know they're just going to report to Walsh if they haven't already!" Wheiner snapped.

"Relax, Walsh doesn't know yet," Cain waved. "We are keeping him out of the loop for now. We're just coming up with some strategies in case they do find something."

"I doubt it," Wheiner snorted. "I mean there is a chance they won't find anything. Those glorified cowboys can't always solve your problems. I've been thinking we should be looking for new Ranger candidates."

"I take it you mean those that are more…agreeable to the Board's policies?" Garson asked. "That might be a problem considering the Series Five positions are already filled. And one of them by that damned Supertrooper."

"Something tells me that Gooseman won't be much of a thorn in our sides any more," Wheiner said.

"What makes you say that?" Cain asked. "Idiots' Intuition?"

"No its something I know and you don't," Wheiner sneered. "And I won't tell you. Anything else before I leave?"

"There is one thing I want to know Wheiner," Cain gave him a look. "What exactly do you have on Walsh?"

"What do you mean?" Wheiner gave him a look.

"I know you two are blackmailing each other," Cain said. "Hell the whole Board of Leaders knows that. Everybody knows what he's got on you, but what do you have on **him?** That's the sixty four thousand credit question."

"I've been wondering that myself," Garson frowned.

"Keep wondering," Wheiner snarled.

"Since you put it that way," Cain asked casually. He pulled out a small pistol and calmly shot Wheiner in the leg.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Wheiner screamed as he fell to the floor, clutching his bleeding leg. "YOU MANIAC!"

"**Now** will you tell me?" Cain asked calmly.

"Why the hell didn't think of that sooner?" Garson didn't even raise an eyebrow. "Oh right I'm not **insane!** Cain what the hell are you doing?"

"Getting the information," Cain told him matter of factly. "What you care about this sleaze ball?"

"No, I just didn't want blood on my carpet," Garson winced.

"Oh it's only a pellet gun," Cain switched guns. "Barely even leaves a scratch. Now this…This could really hurt. But it doesn't leave any blood."

"You…You can't do this to me!" Wheiner screamed. "GUARDS! GUARDS!"

"Stop living up to your name," Cain told him. "One this room is soundproof. Two All the guards here work for us. If we wanted you dead not only would they not stop us they'd recommend a lovely field in New Jersey to bury you in."

"You really should work on your personality," Garson said. "Let's face it even if you did die no one would really care. I know several people who will be celebrating."

"We could always blame it on Gooseman," Cain pretended to think. "No…Too obvious. Hmm…Well it's not like there's a lack of suspects."

"AAAAAAH!" Wheiner clutched his leg. "You are a psychopath!"

"Yeah tell me something I don't know," Cain remarked. "Like the blackmail you have on Walsh. I could always shoot you again. I know, we can blame it on your daughter. She's drunk off her ass half the time anyway. It'd be completely believable."

"NO! ALL RIGHT! YOU WIN!" Whiener's face when white but not from blood loss. "I've got the information in my office."

"**Where **in your office?" Cain pointed the blaster at him. "No tricks now…"

"Fine…" Wheiner struggled to get up. "Garson help me."

"Sorry this trip is just for you and me," Cain told him.

"How come I can't come?" Garson asked.

"Because you're not the one who shot him," Cain gave him a look. "Besides…I might need this information for insurance policies. You might have something I want."

"All right," Garson shrugged.

"You're just going to leave me with him?" Wheiner screamed.

"Yes because odds are you'll annoy him enough so that he'll shoot you again," Garson said.

"Come on Whiny," Cain dragged Wheiner out. "Let's see what you have that's so important."

Garson shook his head as they left. "However…" He mused to himself. "Maybe what Wheiner said about other Galaxy Rangers might have some merit? For once…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The salvage operation was a limited success. Shane had found some extra fuel from several abandoned but extremely broken vehicles. The Rangers made camp with their unexpected guests. Shane started working on the ship almost immediately and had been working for several hours.

Occasionally Doc helped him with the circuitry but for the most part Shane worked alone. Well not quite alone…

"If you're just going to sit there and stare at me you might as well make yourself useful," Shane growled at Ryder as he finished welding one piece of the ship's equipment. "Hand me a wrench or something."

"I don't like you," Ryder sneered.

"I don't care," Shane glared at him.

"You may be an S Class but there's something **different** about you," Ryder said.

"Gee you **think?"** Shane rolled his eyes.

"You don't smell like us at all," Ryder growled. "You smell like **them.**" He indicated the other Rangers. "Why is that?"

"Because I've been with them for a long time," Shane told him.

"Why? Why them? Why not other Supertroopers?" Ryder asked.

"It's…A long story," Shane let out a breath.

"You don't fit in with other Supertroopers do you?" Ryder realized. "You were made different weren't you?"

"Something like that," Shane decided a partial truth for now couldn't hurt.

"I knew it," Ryder snorted in an arrogant way that reminded Shane too well of someone else.

"If you think I'm weak then maybe you'd like another go round?" Shane growled at him.

"You may be older and stronger than I am but you're not better," Ryder said arrogantly. "It just means maybe the war has gone on so long that the humans are desperate…"

"First of all, get this through your head," Shane snapped. "There is no war! Well not the kind you're thinking of! Earth is part of a League of Planets with other aliens."

"No it's not!" Ryder snapped. "The League is made up of only human occupied planets!"

"I suppose your Controllers told you that?" Shane asked. "They lied kid."

"The Controllers knew what was best for us! They made us strong!" Ryder snapped.

"They also threw you and the twins aside like garbage because they thought something was wrong with you," Shane shot back. "Were they right about **that** too? If the explosion never happened would you have simply just stood there and **let **yourself get killed?"

Ryder responded with a dark look. "Didn't think so," Shane snapped. "Kid I don't know what else to tell you but those who created you were not only liars, but they were breaking the law. You were part of an unauthorized genetic experiment and you're lucky to be alive."

"So should I just be grateful then?" Ryder sneered. "What's going to happen to us if you bring us back to your humans? They are not going to just accept us. They want to shove us in the Freezer or kill us. So don't pretend you're doing us any favors."

"There was a Cryocrypt here too?" Shane asked softly.

"The Freezer was only for dead bodies for future experiments," Ryder said. "No point in keeping **failures** alive for no reason."

"That doesn't mean you're a…" Shane tried to explain.

"I don't need your pity!" Ryder snapped. "At least I **know** what I am! I am a Supertrooper! What are **you?**" He stormed away.

"I know you want me to help them Cheyenne," Shane grumbled to himself. "But this kid sure isn't making things any easier."

He finished up his work and made his way to the others. "So you weren't created in a lab?" Mata asked Niko cautiously. "You actually had **parents?**"

"Yes but they died a long time ago," Niko said gently.

"And you are **not** an enforcer?" Mata studied her closely.

"I prefer to use my gifts to help people, not harm them," Niko said.

"Interesting…" Hari said. She looked at Doc sitting by the fire. "Move over! I want to sit there!" She then shoved him roughly.

"In the future a 'please move' will be precise," Doc grunted, slightly amused by the girl's attitude. He moved aside. The girl growled lightly and sat in his place.

"I want to sit near Hari!" Mata snapped shoving Doc from the other side.

"Fine!" Doc got up. "I'll go over **here**. Is that a problem for you?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Shane barked sharply.

"I'm just standing here! I am not doing anything!" Doc yelled.

"Not **you!"** Shane held a squirming Ryder in his grasp. "Him!" He took out a few ration bars and some other supplies from the boy's hand.

"Let go of me!" Ryder yelled.

"You were stealing weren't you?" Shane snarled. "You greedy little…"

"We don't tolerate stealing here," Zach told the boy.

"Fine," The boy grunted and stripped off the top of his coverall, revealing how thin his body was as well as several whip marks on his back. The other Rangers stared at it in horror.

"Put it back on!" Shane snapped. "It's obviously going to be a waste of time beating that lesson into you. Stay over there and behave yourself until we make a decision. Got it?"

The boy pulled the top of his coverall back on, slightly confused but did as he was told. The Rangers moved to the side. "Goose…Is that…?" Niko asked horrified. "Was that standard at Wolf Den?"

"Walsh didn't use corporal punishment," Shane told them. With a smirk he added. "We beat each other up too many times for it to be effective. He used more…creative ways to keep us in line."

"We can discuss that later," Zach sighed. "Right now we need to figure out how to get out of our current situation."

"Situation is right. Is it me or are those kids deliberately giving the Doctor a hard time?" Doc grumbled.

"It's about dominance," Shane said. "Just push them hard enough so that they don't think you are a pushover and they'll stop."

"If it's as simple as that then why aren't they doing it to you Gooseman?" Doc asked. "Or Niko or Zach?"

"Well you are the weakest," Shane shrugged.

"What are you talking about My Gooseman?" Doc gave him a look.

"Think about it," Shane shrugged. "I'm an S Class Supertrooper, Niko's a psychic, Zach has bionics…"

"And I am just the handsome computer jockey," Doc groaned. "I get it. Let's talk about something more cheerful. Such as how are we going to get off this planet before it explodes?"

"How are the repairs coming Goose?" Zach asked.

"There's good news and bad news," Shane told him. "The good news is that we have enough fuel and if we can get it into space it might be enough for us to make it to the nearest outpost."

"And the bad news?" Niko asked.

"Getting off the ground. We need an positron turbine and there's only one place to get it from," Shane sighed.

"Please don't tell me it's from that force field that's keeping out the radiation," Doc groaned.

"Okay I won't tell you," Shane quipped.

"You sure there wasn't one in that scrap yard?" Niko asked.

"We went over that dump with a fine tooth laser comb and then with our teeth," Doc said. "We were lucky to find extra fuel and what little spare parts we could get."

"How do you know there's a positron turbine in that force field anyway?" Zach asked.

"They're standard issue in all force fields as well as an important component in all Andorian hyperdrives," Doc explained. "Don't worry. Only mechanical and computer geniuses would know that."

"Yeah but that doesn't explain how **you **know it," Shane gave him a look. "Uh Doc…"

Doc turned around just in time to catch Ryder trying to steal his CDU. "Hey Mr. Stickyhands!" Doc flicked the boy's nose hard. "Don't you know better than to take someone else's things?"

"OWWWWW!" Ryder held his nose. "THAT HURT!"

"Next time say please," Doc sniffed.

"Grrrrrr…." Ryder growled at Doc, giving him a dirty look.

"Don't bother with that growl," Doc told him. "Compared to the Goose you're just a little gosling. And don't roll your eyes at me boy, I'll roll that little **head** of yours."

"He can do it too," Shane folded his arms. "He's stronger than he looks. Or acts."

"Yes and I'm a little annoyed by your lack of manners," Doc gave a stern look to the children. "It's time you learned some. First lesson, if you want something, say please."

"The hell I will you…" Ryder made a fist. Before anyone could stop him Doc flicked his nose again. "OWWWWWWW!"

"For example," Doc said cheerfully. "**Please** cut down on the swearing and **please** do **not** raise your fist at me."

"That's it! I'm gonna…" Ryder charged and swung at him with a knife he had hidden in his boot.

Doc however easily dodged it and grabbed the boy from behind. "I did say please," He told him grabbing his ear. "This is what happens when one is rude."

"AAAH!" Ryder snapped after his ear was given a sharp twist.

"Please drop the knife," Doc said in a cheerful tone. "You could hurt someone with that."

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'll…" Ryder tried to slash again but Doc easily sidestepped the boy and tripped him.

"Oopsie," Doc said still being cheerful. "Please excuse me." Before Ryder could react he knocked the knife out of his hand and pulled out a small rope from his back pocket. He tied the boy's hands and feet behind him with a speed and grace that most rodeo performers would envy.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Ryder shouted thrashing about.

"Now what's the magic word?" Doc held a hand to his ear.

"DIE!" Ryder thrashed.

"No, that's not it," Doc shook his head. "When you calm down and learn to use your manners maybe I might consider letting you go." He gave a look to the girls. "Can either of you ladies tell the class what we have learned today?"

"Uh not a single one of us can beat you?" Mata blinked.

"Very good," Doc grinned.

"So we're just gonna have to gang up on you!" Hari said. With a yell both girls tackled Doc.

"AAAHH!" Doc shouted. "No, no! Get off!"

"You forgot to say please Doc," Shane said in an amused tone.

"Shane…" Niko sighed.

"Oh all right," Shane sighed and helped pull the twins off Doc. "No tackling the teacher. Even if it is fun."

"Charming children," Doc grumbled.

"Uh should you do something about **that?**" Zach asked pointing at the squirming Ryder.

"Are you kidding?" Doc gave him a look. "That kid got off easy. If this was Miss Abercrombie's Charm School he'd be in **real** trouble."

"Speaking of which," Shane knelt down and glared at Ryder. "Are you going to behave now?" The boy replied with a snarl. "Fine you can stay tied up until you've calmed down some."

"Goose don't you think that's…" Zach began.

"Trust me Captain," Shane gave him a look. "This is extremely mild compared to a lot of other things that kid has been through. Once he's calmed down Doc you can untie him."

"Why…?" Zach began.

"Because it's all about dominance," Niko explained. "I guess that's how Supertrooper society works."

"Ha! If I've ever heard two words that don't go together such as them…" Shane snorted. "Come on let's eat. We need to get our strength up if we're gonna get a radiation bath."

"That may not be necessary," Doc thought. "Maybe there's a way to deactivate the force field for a moment without letting any radiation escape and kill us? Of course it's going to take a lot of your charge Niko."

"I was afraid you might say that," Niko sighed. "But I don't know if I can handle that much radiation."

"Niko there's not much choice the way I see it," Shane said. "There's not exactly a lot of options. Either we risk radiation poisoning and get that turbine…"

"Or we just let ourselves get blown up," Zach added. "Niko how much longer do we have?"

"At least seventy two hours," Niko said. "Maybe more."

"All right," Zach said. "Doc and I will plan our strategy while you and Goose take a short break. Something tells me you two will push your charges to the limit and I want you both to be as rested as possible."

"First I am going to have a little talk with Kilbane Junior over there," Doc motioned with his thumb. The boy had stopped writhing and was just laying on the ground. "All right now young man, have you calmed down enough?"

"Untie me…" The boy growled.

"What's the magic word?" Doc prompted. "Come on now, it's not going to kill you."

"Untie me…Please…" The boy spat out the word.

"There now, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Doc grinned as he started to untie him. However as soon as the boy got loose he attempted to hit him and grab Doc's gun.

An attack that was quickly thwarted by Shane. "You just don't learn, do you?" Shane barked as he grabbed the boy by the scruff. "Just like your brother, you're too damn stubborn and hard headed for your own good!"

"Brother?" Ryder blinked and stopped struggling. "What do you mean?"

Shane silently cursed himself at his slip of the tongue. "Let's just say you're not the first Kilbane I've dealt with."

"There's **another** one?" Ryder was stunned. "Another like me?"

"Yes and he's even worse than you are," Shane growled as he put him down. "Trust me kid, you **don't** want to meet up with him. Just behave yourself and eat."

The boy grunted and sat with the twins. They ate in silence but they stared at Shane, not taking their eyes off him.

_They're trying to figure me out…_Shane thought to himself. _Good luck kids. I don't even understand __**myself**__ half the time. _

Soon the children had finished. They begrudgingly accepted some blankets to sleep on. To most of the Ranger's surprise, they purposely backed themselves into a wall. The twins positioned themselves behind Ryder as he lay in front of them. "What's that about?" Doc asked.

"That's how Supertroopers show they…Can protect each other," Shane explained softly.

"Backs to the wall and someone up front on guard duty?" Zach narrowed his eyes, not even wanting to imagine how children that young became so paranoid.

"That's pretty much it," Shane sighed.

"You two better get some rest," Doc indicated that it was getting rather dark. "We'll have a better chance of pulling off the operation come morning."

But sleep didn't come to Shane. He lay there for about an hour thinking, then got up and went outside the camp to look at the stars. It wasn't long before both Niko and Zach followed him. Doc shrugged and went to work with his CDU.

What they didn't realize was that the kids weren't really asleep as well.

Outside the camp Shane looked at the stars, dozens of memories swirled around his mind, trying to shut them down. "You should be sleeping," Niko said as she walked up to him.

"Look who's talking," Zach noted. "Goose?"

"I'm all right, it's just…" Shane let out a breath. "This whole thing…It brought back a whole lot of unpleasant memories. More than I realized. Just seeing those kids…"

"Speaking of which guys we have a problem," Doc ran up to them. "One of our little friends just took off!"

"Oh for crying out…" Shane growled. "Don't tell me, let me guess. Ryder! That kid is nothing but trouble!"

"The other two tried to get away as well but they got a little tied up," Doc remarked. "And I'm guessing the kid stole a few supplies by the looks of it."

"Where is he going?" Zach grumbled.

"Only one way to find out," Shane told him. He stormed over to where Mata and Hari were tied up. "Good work Doc. All right you two what the devil is going on?"

"Yeah I thought you liked us," Doc quipped as he folded his arms.

"Where is he going?" Shane made a menacing growl at the girls. They tried not to show fear but a whimper from Hari betrayed them. "Tell me! NOW!"

"Goose you're scaring them," Niko said.

"That's the idea," Shane barked. "Butt out Niko! You don't know them like I do! That's the only way you can control them!"

"Like **you** were controlled?" Niko raised an eyebrow. "Let me handle this."

Shane gave a terse nod and stepped back. Niko knelt down to the girls and untied them. "Look I know you're afraid of us but your friend Ryder is in trouble isn't he? You have to tell us the truth if you want to get him out of it."

Both girls looked at each other. "We have to tell…" Hari whispered.

"Hari No!" Mata was afraid.

"Where did Ryder go?" Zach asked. Hari pointed behind him. "Isn't that where that radioactive pool of water is?"

"Let me guess, it's not really poisoned is it?" Shane growled. Both girls shook their head. "You're hiding something aren't you? Or should I say **someone…?"**

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Come on Dea," Ryder whispered. "Just try to eat it."

He held up a thin young girl about his age in a makeshift campsite near the lake. She was nearly bald with only wisps of blue hair straggling on her head. He held the ration bar to her mouth. She was barely conscious. "Just try a few chews. It will be okay. Come on."

"So this is what you've been hiding," Shane growled as the others entered the campsite.

"Get away from her!" Ryder put her down and grabbed a nearby knife. He tried to attack but Shane grabbed him and disarmed him. "AAAAHH!"

"Cool it kid!" Shane shoved him down.

"You told!" Ryder barked at the twins. "How could you tell them about Medea?"

"Hari broke down," Mata snapped.

"They would have figured it out anyway!" Hari protested.

"Why didn't you just tell us about her?" Zach yelled at Ryder.

"He thought we were going to kill her," Shane explained. He looked at Ryder. "Her bio-defenses aren't working properly are they?"

"No," Ryder said softly. "That's why we were all abandoned. Only…Only for some reason the twins' kicked in shortly after the explosion."

"Your Controllers were probably too impatient," Shane growled. "Niko how is she?"

"She's got a bad case of radioactive poisoning," Niko told them as she looked over the girl. "I'm amazed she survived this long."

"Is there anything you can do?" Shane asked.

"I can give her something to ease her pain but without proper medical treatment she doesn't stand a chance," Niko shook her head.

"How did she get like this?" Zach asked.

"She…She got it protecting us…" Mata admitted. "The force field wasn't turned on automatically…She went into the heart of the radiation in order to turn it on so the rest of us would be safe."

"Did you really think we would kill her because she was sick?" Zach asked.

"What should I think? You are a human and humans only use Supertroopers!" Ryder snapped. "And he's not even a real Supertrooper! There's something wrong with him!"

"I'd say your instincts were good kid, because you can't trust the Runt or his friends."

"Oh great…" Shane grumbled as he turned around and saw Ryker Kilbane holding a blaster on them. "This whole trip just got better…"

**Next chapter things are going to get a lot more explosive and not just for the Rangers! **


	4. Part IV

**Part IV**

Back at BETA…

"Walsh!" Cain stormed into Walsh's office. "We really need to talk."

"Not now Cain," Walsh growled.

"Oh yeah, **now**…" Cain hissed. "Unless you want me to wait until **Sonny Boy** gets back from his mission. Then we can have a nice good old fashioned **family reunion**."

Walsh narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

"I think you know **exactly** what I am talking about," Cain snapped. "What I want to know is what the hell were you **thinking** when you did it?"

"How did you…?"

"Wheiner can be very helpful when given the right incentive," Cain got in his face. "Now you explain to me why the hell you broke the law and donated your own DNA to the Supertrooper Project!"

"It's…complicated," Walsh sighed.

"Please Walsh tell me some heart wrenching story about some woman you fell in love with and got pregnant but there was some kind of accident and the only way to save the baby was to make it a Supertrooper," Cain growled. "Of course this is **you** we're talking about so my hopes for that are pretty slim."

"It's not so dramatic as all that," Walsh admitted. "The truth is…The truth is by the end of that part of the project we were running low on suitable DNA. By that time the majority of it was either over used or discredited or simply deteriorated due to certain conditions. The Board of Leaders were refusing to help in any way but wanted results or else the entire program would have been terminated. I had to get DNA from somewhere…"

"So you donated your own, literally throwing yourself into the project," Cain got the message. "Is Gooseman the only one? I mean…How many of them did you…"

"There was only one batch I put my DNA in and Gooseman was the only one that was viable and survived," Walsh admitted.

"My God Walsh…" Cain was truly stunned. "And you have the gall to call me a disgrace to the military! How could you do that to Gooseman? He's your **son!** And don't give me that technical mumbo jumbo crap you use to hide behind the truth! That's what he is no matter what other DNA you put into him! Your DNA is in his body, doesn't matter how it got in there. Whether it's by test tube or one night stand you give him your DNA that makes him your kid! Simple as that! And then you turned him into a weapon? How the hell do you **sleep** at night?"

"Sometimes I don't," Walsh sighed. "There is something else…It's not exactly a reason but…In the time of the cold war an ancestor of mine was part of a similar project. He fell in love with one of the soldiers."

"Cheyenne Gooseman," Cain's eyes narrowed. "I've read the file."

"Well it seemed fitting at the time," Walsh shrugged. "Like fate telling me I had to do it."

"How sentimental," Cain groaned. "Well no wonder you let Wheiner walk all over you! Gods if anyone else found out about this not only is your career over…"

"Gooseman's life would be over," Walsh sighed. "There are very clear guidelines on that."

"Gooseman won't even get to the Cryocrypt," Cain swore. "They'd destroy the kid on the spot. Claiming tainted DNA and all that crap."

Cain gave him a look. "This is **exactly** why I was against the Supertrooper program from the start. Playing God, growing kids in test tubes and throwing them into battle like they were disposable…Not to mention growing soldiers like that would cut into my profits but still…"

"What are you going to do with this information?" Walsh asked.

"I'm going to go to Disney World," Cain said sarcastically. "What do you **think** I am going to do? I'm not going to say a word, but not to save **your **worthless hide. Gooseman is a damn fine ranger and way too valuable to just throw to the wolves like that. Besides I think you'll be a little more **cooperative** with my requests from now on if you want things to go on as usual."

"Don't play the good Samaritan with me Cain, you bastard," Walsh growled. "We both know you'd turn on him in a heartbeat for your own purposes and power games."

"You know Walsh you can call me a bastard all you want," Cain gave him a hard look. "But at least I can sleep at night knowing all my double dealings never hurt a **child.** Particularly **my own**. Can you say the same?"

Silence. "I didn't think so," Cain sneered. "I wouldn't worry about Wheiner any more if I were you. Trust me Walsh, I am a **lot **more dangerous. And you will be sure that you'll play ball with me if you know what's good for you. And your son."

Walsh hung his head down in shame as Cain stormed out of the room. "Shane what have I done?" He whispered.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Kilbane what the hell are you doing here?" Shane barked at his old enemy. "How did you find us?"

"I got an anonymous tip that if I was interested in offing you and the rest of your Ranger buddies to show up at these coordinates," Kilbane snorted. "I gotta admit I wasn't expecting a bunch of…" He looked and did a double take at Ryder. "Okay either I'm really drunk or that's a…"

"You're a Kilbane **too?**" Ryder asked.

**"Too?"** Kilbane snorted. He looked at the others. "Well this trip was worth the price of admission!"

"Watch it slime ball…" Shane snarled.

"Look at that, the **traitor** calling me names," Kilbane sneered.

"What do you mean?" Ryder asked.

"You didn't tell them?" Kilbane couldn't resist. "Of course you wouldn't. It would be easier to collect the bounty on their heads if they didn't know. Let me tell you a little story kids. Once upon a time there was a whole bunch of Supertroopers until one day their human masters decided to turn 'em into guinea pigs. All of 'em except of course their **favorite**, the Runt of the litter! They gassed us all with genetic accelerator in order to cripple us but their plan backfired and we became stronger, more powerful than they could ever hope for. But the Runt got jealous and turned on us and only a few of us escaped. So Gooseman took the job of hunting down any stray Supertrooper, dead or alive."

"That's not the whole story and you know it!" Zach barked.

"Oh and you were **there?**" Kilbane challenged. "You have no idea what Gooseman is capable of."

"It is true isn't it," Ryder growled at Shane. "I knew it!" He stood with Kilbane. "I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"Good instincts kid," Kilbane barked. "He's no Supertrooper. He doesn't have any real powers without his precious badge. He's not like us. He's nothing!"

"Ryder listen to me…" Shane began.

"I'm through listening to you Traitor!" Ryder hissed. "I'm with **him!**" He pointed to Kilbane. "Mata! Hari! Grab Dea and let's go!"

"Ryder wait…" Hari said. "Something's wrong with him."

"I can see it in his eyes…" Mata shuddered. "Something bad."

"You're right, he **is** bad," Doc told her.

"You gonna listen to a bunch of humans or one of us?" Ryder snapped. "Gooseman even smells human! But he doesn't! This one smells like power!"

"You are of my blood after all!" Kilbane laughed. "Face it Gooseman, you lost again to me! You were always jealous of the rest of us Supertroopers and our power! You're just plain weak!"

"But if he was jealous of their power…Why didn't he just take the gas too?" Mata thought. "Something is not right here."

"Mata shut up and bring Dea over here!" Ryder snapped.

"No…" Mata said nervously.

"Ryder we don't want to disobey but…" Hari gulped as she looked at Kilbane. "He scares us…"

Suddenly the ground shook violently. "Personally I'm a lot more scared of this planet," Doc checked his CDU. "Seismic activity is off the charts."

"I hope that doesn't mean what I **think** it means?" Zach grumbled.

"It means worrying about the sun exploding is the **least** of our problems," Doc moaned. "Because it looks like this planet is going to explode ahead of schedule!"

"Come on!" Ryder grabbed Medea and dragged her over to Kilbane. "We have to get out of here!"

"You have a point. What the hell am I doing wasting time here when I could just let the whole planet blow you up?" Kilbane snorted. "See ya around Runt!"

Kilbane deliberately grabbed Medea and the Rangers knew they couldn't risk taking a shot. "What do we do now?" Niko asked.

"You go ahead with the plan!" Shane barked. "I'm going after them!" He ran after them.

"There's more to this story isn't there?" Hari looked at Niko. "What happened?"

"We'll explain later," Niko told her. The ground shook wildly. "Come on! I have a feeling we'd better follow Goose!"

"But what about grabbing the…?" Zach began.

"Zach even if we had time to grab it there's no way we can install it into Ranger One ourselves," Doc said. "And according to my instruments this planet will explode in about…Thirty something minutes."

"WHAT I THOUGHT WE HAD HOURS?" Zach yelled.

"So did I! But you know how impatient a planet can be!" Doc yelled as they chased after Shane.

Shane had barely managed to catch up behind Kilbane and the two kids. He saw that he was piloting a large A Class pirate ship. It was just taking off. Taking a risk Shane used his metal coil whip he hid underneath his left wrist to catch one of the transmitter towers and pulled himself on top of the ship.

Shane hung on and took a deep breath. He managed to touch his badge with one hand before hanging on. He changed to a metal form with a pair of silver shades so that he could survive outside the ship as it took off. He also developed suctions on his hands and feet so that he could hang on. Slowly Shane managed to crawl on the outside of the ship trying to make his way to the airlock.

Meanwhile inside the ship Ryder was looking out the window from his seat. "I can't believe we left them…"

"Hey that's what happens, deal with it," Kilbane grunted as he hit the autopilot as the ship left the planet's gravity. "This should be far enough. We can watch the fireworks!"

There was an awkward pause as Kilbane sized Ryder up. "So you were abandoned too huh?" Kilbane looked at his younger counterpart. "Yeah that's right Kid, they put me on the list and branded me with an A. But I fought back. I fought back and survived until they had no choice but to take me back."

"Now Gooseman, that's another story…" He snarled. "Walsh and the others…They'd never put him on the list. He was their favorite. They coddled him, trying to protect him every chance they got. We lost people because of that. I lost…I lost my only friend in the world because he chose the Runt over me. And I'll never forgive him for that. Never. They thought he was so great. Walsh's little pet always jumping through hoops to please him. No wonder he turned on us. Then again he was never one of us in the first place. He was a home grown threat that was always going to turn on us. I always said it. Those damn fools never listened to me. They deserved everything they got. So what if they got iced? Less competition…"

It was then that Ryder began to see what the twins meant. He cursed himself silently for not seeing it before. He was so intent on Goose being a danger to him he completely ignored the danger the other Supertrooper was radiating.

A soft moan from Medea lying on the floor got their attention. "Oh right, forgot about her," Kilbane grunted. "Come on help me throw her in the airlock."

"What? Why?" Ryder gasped.

"Because I just had the floor cleaned on this ship and I don't want her to mess it up when she kicks the bucket," Kilbane snapped. "Come on!"

"No! Don't!" Ryder put himself between them.

"Come on kid, she's just gonna die anyway," Kilbane said. "She was only good for a hostage so they wouldn't shoot us. Get with the program."

"I can't! She saved my life!" Ryder said.

"So?" Kilbane growled.

"The twins were right…You are crazy…" Ryder realized.

"Yeah but I'm also the one in charge here," Kilbane shot out a short pair of metal claws on his right hand and took a swipe at Ryder.

Ryder screamed in agony as Kilbane cut him on his face, just over his eye. He fell backwards on top of Medea. "AAAAHH!" He held his bloody face.

"Pity," Kilbane growled. "I could have made something out of you. Would have been fun having a Mini Me to boss around. Then again there's something to be said for being an only child." He raised his clawed fist again.

ZAP!

He jerked his hand back as a laser blast hit it. "What the…?"

"Don't you **touch** him you slime ball," Shane snarled.

"YOU! HOW THE HELL DID YOU…" Kilbane roared as Shane tackled him. "I don't know how you got on my ship but I know how you're getting **off!"**

Both mutants fought wildly. Kilbane managed to kick Shane off. "I knew you were slime Kilbane but even I didn't think you'd go so low as to kill your own brother!" Shane snapped.

"Look who's making judgments! Come on Runt! We both know where those kids are gonna end up! I'm just doing them a favor," Kilbane hissed. "Or do you really want the bounty on their heads?"

"They're not going into the Cryocrypt if I can help it Kilbane," Shane snarled back. "But **you** are!"

"Go ahead and try Runt!" Kilbane changed form into a red metal being with spikes all over him. "I'll rip you to pieces!"

Shane saw something and it gave him an idea. "Gotta catch me first!" Shane taunted as he raced to the side of the ship.

"You can't run from me forever Gooseman!" Kilbane charged straight at Shane.

Shane stood there until the last possible second, then he hit the button behind him opening the door to the escape pod. He jumped to the side purposely letting one foot stick out in order to trip Kilbane.

"WHAAAAAAAA!" Kilbane screamed as he fell face first into the escape pod.

"Have a nice trip Kilbane," Shane smirked as he hit the button locking him in before activating the escape pod.

"I'LL GET YOU RUNT! I'LL GET YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I EVER DO!" Kilbane roared just as the escape pod was launched.

"And it may be," Shane grinned. He turned to Ryder. "Are you both okay?"

"I'm fine," Ryder ignored the blood in his eye. "Dea's…I think she's really sick…"

"Try to make her comfortable," Shane told him as he grabbed the controls of the ship. "I'm going back to get the others!"

Shane easily figured out the controls and landed the ship back on the planet and none too soon. The earth was breaking up all around. Lava was starting to pour from the surface.

"What took you so long?" Doc yelled as he ran on board.

"It was impossible to find a parking spot," Shane told him. "Get on! We're blowing this joint!"

They boarded the ship and Shane took off. "I don't know what the hell started the planet from breaking up so fast but there's a chain reaction that's gonna blow us all up sky high before we get into hyperspace!" Doc yelled as he looked at the instruments.

"I'll put up a psychic barrier around the ship," Niko activated her charge. "GOOSE GUN IT!"

"RIGHT!" Shane did so. "EVERYONE STRAP THEMSELVES IN AND HANG ON!"

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!**

"WHOOAAAAAAAAAA!" Doc screamed as the ship rocked with the blast.

"WHEE! THIS IS FUN!" Hari chirped.

"YOU ARE CRAZY GIRL!" Doc yelled.

"HITTING HYPERDRIVE NOW!" Shane shouted. Soon the ship was in hyper drive and Niko could let her shields down. "Everyone all right?"

"No…" Doc moaned.

"That's good," Shane got up. "Zach take the controls. "Niko help me look after the kids."

"The twins are fine…" Doc moaned in his seat as the twins started bouncing around in their seats.

"We're in space! We're in space!" They squealed.

"OW! YOU'RE IN MY SPACE!" Doc yelled as they jumped on him.

Niko looked over Medea. "I'll watch her Goose. You take care of Ryder."

Shane nodded. "Come on kid there's got to be a bathroom around here someplace."

He found one in the back. "Let me see your eye," Shane gently began to clean Ryder's face with a med kit he found. "Good news is your eye doesn't seem to be damaged in any way. Can you see?"

"Yes, nothing looks different," Ryder said.

"You might end up with a scar but other than that…" Shane stopped. Realizing he really did look like his older counterpart. "You'll be okay."

"Those troopers you turned on…They were insane weren't they?" Ryder asked softly. "Like Ryker? That's even worse than being abandoned."

"I had nothing to do with the gas…" Shane sighed. "But I was responsible for freezing the other Supertroopers…If I hadn't, people would have gotten hurt. Do you understand?"

"I think so…" Ryder thought.

"Even thought the whole incident wasn't my fault I still blame myself for what happened," Shane admitted. "If I had been more vigilant…Or if I did something different…I don't know. I was the youngest. All my life I tried to be as good as the others…But it never seemed enough. And then…Then that horrible day happened. And there was only one thing I could do."

"They were insane," Ryder said. "An insane trooper is no good to anyone. He is a threat to not only himself but to everyone around him. The first duty of any Supertrooper is to neutralize any threat, even if it is another Supertrooper. You should not feel guilty for doing your duty."

"Ah but I do," Shane made a wry smile. "That is my flaw. A flaw I've had to hide for nearly my whole life. You were right. I am not like any other Supertrooper. I am too human."

"How did you become…Like that?" Ryder asked.

"I'm not really sure," Shane said. "Sometimes I think it was the way I was created. I was an experimental. The last of my unit and given the most advanced genetic designs. But I think part of it…Part of it is because of what happened to me after Wolf Den."

"What happened?"

"I made friends," Shane smiled. "Real friends who didn't care what I was. That's very rare. That's why I would do anything for them. They saved me from myself. They taught me that all life is important and valuable. And that no one should be abandoned."

Ryder looked away. "When we were abandoned…I was told I was useless. That all I was good for was to help train those that were worthy. And I believed them. But I didn't want to die. I was too scared to die. Then the explosion happened and…And I was happy. It didn't matter how bad things got at least I could live another day. And I had the others. They needed a leader in order to survive. I was the strongest. It was only natural. I was their leader. I was useful."

"That's why you fought so hard for them isn't it?" Shane asked softly. "Even for Medea, who you believed would die anyway? As long as she was alive…You had a purpose. Someone who needed you, depended on you."

The boy barely nodded. "That's why you were so angry at me weren't you? Not because I was different than you…But because we're so much alike," Shane realized. "We both need people to need us. To depend on us. You were afraid that I would take that away from you, weren't you?"

Shane looked in his eyes. "But I could never take them away from you. They all need you and depend on you. Nothing can change that. Do you understand?"

"I…I think so…" Ryder blinked.

"And just as you protect them," Shane gently touched his cheek. "I will protect you. I will never allow you to be used as a weapon again. I promise." He hugged him close to his body. "I promise."

"Why?" The boy was clearly confused. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I know what it's like to be all alone," Shane told him. "To have everything taken away from me. Even my purpose for living."

"What did you do?" Ryder asked.

"I had to find a new reason," Shane told him. "It took me a long time but I finally did."

"What was your reason?" Ryder asked.

"My reason is to protect life," Shane told him. "To protect those who can't protect themselves. To make the universe peaceful so that no one will ever be forced to fight each other again."

"It sounds impossible."

"I like a challenge," Shane smiled. "You're not him you know?"

"He was abandoned like I was," Ryder said. "I'm made up of the same genetic material he was made from."

"Mostly the same genetic material," Shane pointed out. "You have a slightly different smell so the Controllers must have made a few modifications. And there's something else, Kilbane…Ryker never cared about anyone but himself. He didn't care if his whole squad died as long as he survived. You're not like that. Not anymore."

"What's going to happen to me?" Ryder asked, his voice was hoarse.

"I don't know," Shane told him. "But I can promise you one thing, I will do everything in my power to give you a new life. A life better than the one you were supposed to have."

"How?" Ryder asked, confused.

"I'll find a way," Shane told him, giving the boy a gentle hug. "I don't know how but I **will **find a way."


	5. Part V

**Part V**

Back at BETA Mountain…

"It's been a while since the Galaxy Rangers have contacted us," Zozo remarked to his friend Waldo as they walked the hallways.

"Patrols sometimes take a long time," Waldo said.

"I guess," Zozo shrugged. "I wish we'd gone with them. It's getting a little too dull around here for my tastes."

"I for one am not complaining," Waldo told him. "A bit of quiet every now and then…"

FLASH!

An image of Cheyenne appeared in their minds. _My friends…The Galaxy Rangers need your help. There are others that need your help…_

A fuzzy image of four children was seen. _You must help the Rangers protect these four children! Hurry! There is not much time! _

Another image of a space station was shown before the vision ended. "What was that?" Zozo gasped.

"A telepathic message…" Waldo blinked.

"Did you…?" Zozo asked.

"Yes I did," Waldo agreed. "I believe we should follow the lady's suggestion and investigate."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I don't where Kilbane got this baby from," Doc said as he piloted the ship. "It may look like a rust bucket but it flies like a dream. Got the latest design in Andorian hyper drive as well as new alloy metal all over the ship."

"Probably stole half the stuff and got the other half all those times he was working for the Queen," Shane grunted. "How far are we from Space Station Theta?"

"We'll arrive there in a few minutes but why there?" Doc asked. "Why not just head straight to BETA?"

"One it's closer and it has medical facilities for Medea," Shane said. "The other reason…Well let's just say it's a bit isolated. It'll be easier to hide the kids."

"Goose…We…" Zach began. Shane turned away from him.

Shane went over to the other children who were looking out the window. "We've never been in outer space before…" Ryder whispered his eyes full of wonder. "So many stars…"

"It's something isn't it?" Shane smiled. "Listen. I want you kids to follow my instructions. I don't want you to speak to anyone other than myself or the other Rangers if you can help it. Stay close to us and whatever you do don't tell **anyone** you're Supertroopers. Got it? Zach could you get me those blankets to drape around the kid's shoulders."

"Why?" Zach looked at a small pile of blankets in the corner.

"So no one will see what they're wearing!" Shane snapped at them.

"Kids are sick and you're worried about them making a fashion statement?" Doc gave him a look.

"A fashion statement that will get them **killed,"** Shane hissed. "Just do it!"

"Humor him," Zach told Doc as he got a blanket out. "Come on Ryder put it on over your shoulders. We're approaching the space station."

"How's she doing?" Shane looked at Medea.

"She's not doing well…" Niko said. "I don't know if even the doctors can do anything."

"Send out an emergency distress call," Zach said as he prepared to contact the space station. "This is Captain Zachery Foxx of the Galaxy Rangers requesting an emergency landing on Space Station Theta. Come in Space Station Theta!"

The communications screen popped up. "Captain Foxx this is Captain Arden," A young man in his early thirties spoke. "Request granted. If you don't mind me asking what the devil are you flying?"

"It's a rental," Doc quipped. "Our ride is in the shop."

"Captain Arden we have some very sick children on board," Zach said. "One of them is suffering from severe long term radiation poisoning."

"I'll have my medical team meet you at the docking bay," Captain Arden nodded.

It wasn't long before the children were taken to the medical bay and were being checked over by the doctor and his assistants. The Rangers went with them to keep the children calm and have them not get too nervous. However Shane was more nervous than the rest of them. Especially when the kids had to remove their blankets so they could be examined.

"Goose most people here aren't going to know what that letter means," Niko whispered to him. "Calm down."

"I'm sorry I just…" Shane let out a breath. The doctor went up to them. "How are they?"

"They are severely malnourished and the boy is going to have a scar over his eye but they eye itself is undamaged," The doctor said. "With proper care most of them will pull through."

"What about Medea?" Shane looked at the frail girl lying on a medical table.

"There's nothing more I can do," The doctor said shaking his head. "Her immune system is completely destroyed. She only has a few hours left at best. With the damage done to her system I am amazed she survived this long."

"Gooseman, your bio-defenses…" Doc thought of something. "They're not just in your genes, they're also in your blood, right?"

"It's worth a shot," Shane rolled up his left sleeve.

"Bio-defenses?" The doctor blinked. "You are a Supertrooper."

"Yes, if they can heal me then there's a good chance they can heal her," Shane said.

"But she doesn't have a series five implant," Zach said.

"But we do," Niko said. "If we use our charges and divert our energy to her body it might just work."

"We've been able to share energy between us before," Doc agreed. "If we all stand close to her she'll be part of the field as well."

"How do you know that your blood is even compatible…?" The doctor began.

"Trust me, it is," Shane made a wry smile. "Do it."

He lay on the table next to her and the doctors prepared the transfusion. "All right…" Shane said as his blood was pumped into Medea. "Now." He touched his badge. He had to concentrate so that he could will that his blood would continue going into her body so he would not be automatically healed. The other Rangers touched their badges and placed their hands on top of Medea, willing their energy into her body.

"Come on girl," Shane said. "Fight. You made it this far. You can't stop now. All you have to do is accept my bio-defenses into your body. Fight. You can do this."

"Medea…" Hari blinked as the others watched.

"Can they do it?" Mata asked.

"I…I don't know…" Ryder said. "Come on Dea…Don't leave us."

"Doctor," One of the orderlies spoke. "Look at the instruments! The radiation is disappearing from her body! Her body seems to be recovering at a rate unheard of!"

"Does that mean she's going to make it?" Ryder asked.

"She'll be very weak for a while but I believe so…" Niko smiled as they finished the transfusion of blood and energy.

"I can't believe it," The doctor was stunned. "It worked. Her body is…Wait…This girl has a bio defense system of her own! Then that means…" He looked at the children with a stunned look.

"Doctor I'd appreciate it if you kept this information quiet for now," Zach said to him. "Considering the circumstances."

"Yes, yes I see…" The doctor nodded carefully. "This is a very delicate issue."

They didn't notice one of the orderlies move out of the room and head for a communicator.

"It's Hanson," The orderly said. "I got some information for the Board of Leaders. You're not gonna **believe** this…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Zach convinced the doctor to allow the Rangers to personally take care of the children for now. They were set up in a small series of connecting apartments while Medea remained in the infirmary, since she needed the most medical care. The children's eyes were wide when they were given food to eat and had plenty of energy when it was time to clean them up.

"Well the twins loved their bath," Niko walked into the room soaking wet and trying to dry herself off with a towel.

"Did you love **yours?**" Doc grinned.

"Ha ha," Niko gave him a look.

"Ryder was a lot more reserved," Shane snorted as he collected the discarded uniforms the children wore. "Once I convinced him that the shower wasn't going to leak gas or poison he settled down."

"Are they all right?" Zach asked.

"See for yourself," Niko opened the door. Although there were three beds the children occupied only one. The three of them huddled together for warmth. "They went out like a light."

"Probably not used to sleeping by themselves," Zach sighed as he looked in. "Let them sleep."

Niko nodded and closed the door. "Now what?"

"We have to burn their coveralls," Shane said. "Destroy them so no one will know they were abandoned. Then we have to find a place to hide them."

"That's why we have to take them back!" Zach said. "So that the slime who did this can't hurt them anymore! So they won't hide in the shadows anymore!"

"Zachery it doesn't work like that!" Shane shouted. "Not for Supertroopers! The only chance for a life they have is if no one from BETA finds out about this!"

"A little late for that," Commander Cain casually sauntered into the room.

"What are **you** doing here?" Shane asked.

"Let's just say the Board of Leaders has a lot of people on their payroll," Cain said. "Fortunately so do I."

"No…" Shane's eyes widened as the implications of what would happen hit him. "No you can't make me do this. This isn't like the others from Wolf Den. This is different!"

"Goose calm down," Zach said. "Listen I don't like Commander Cain either but BETA has to know…"

"Captain don't press it," Cain said quickly, as if he was realizing what was going on. "It's not gonna work…He hasn't slept since this began has he?"

"No, but what does **that** have to do with…?" Doc began.

"Sometimes exhaustion coupled with bad memories triggers…Things," Cain began to explain. "It's rare among the later designs but it happens."

"Goose!" Niko gasped as she noticed Shane's hands were clenched so tightly that blood was starting to seep through them.

"Not again…" Shane seemed to be in another world. "Not again…"

"Damn it! I was afraid of this!" Cain swore. "He's stuck!"

"Stuck?" Niko asked.

"A little problem with genetically enhanced memory retention skills," Cain explained. "Sometimes they work **too** well. Your friend here is literally trapped in the past. And if we don't do something it's going to get really bad."

"This has never happened before," Niko said.

"Probably because Gooseman has never been over emotionally involved before," Cain said.

"Actually he has but not like this…" Doc was stunned. He went over to shake Shane out of it.

"Don't touch him! He might interpret that as a threat in this state!" Cain warned. "Just stay your distance."

"Maybe I can make contact…" Niko began.

"Forget it, let me handle this," Cain told her. Using his most authoritative voice he barked. "ATTENTION!"

Shane suddenly stood at attention. "State your name and designation!" Cain said sharply.

"Shane Gooseman, Supertrooper C Class!" Shane said sharply.

"C Class, that's still in cadet phase," Cain explained. "Usually before the final growth spurt. Gooseman, state your age from date of decant."

"Ten cycles sir," Shane said sharply.

"Ten?" Zach narrowed his eyes.

"He's stuck all right," Cain grunted. "Gooseman I understand you were involved in a certain event recently. What was it?"

"It was…" Shane seemed confused. "It was an incident in training, sir."

"Training?" Cain asked. "Elaborate."

"It was…It was my first time hunting, sir," Shane said. "In front of representatives from the Board of Leaders."

"I see…" Cain nodded. "Gooseman, it has come to my attention that the exercise in itself was…flawed. We believe it was something in the planning stages. I want you to give me a detailed account of everything that happened during that hunt. This is not an investigation into your abilities or a reflection on any Supertrooper. We merely wish to prevent any complications in further exercises."

"**Everything** about that exercise, sir…?" Shane asked.

"Everything…" Cain told him.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Wolf Den Base Proving Area…_

_"Walsh has finally gone round the bend," A seventeen year old male Supertrooper with gray skin and a scar on his right cheek snorted. He looked more like a thirty year old linebacker. He prepared his rifle. "I can't believe they put Slasher on the list just because a simple scar wouldn't heal."_

_"It's more than that, Tank," Another male Supertrooper with dark skin, red hair and a scar on his face said. "Slasher's always been a bit unstable and the way he trashed the med bay and killed those guards proved it." _

_"It's gonna be a hell of a hunt that's for sure," A Supertrooper male with white skin and black spots looking a lot like a Dalmatian agreed. "What I can't believe is that they're sticking us with the Runt." _

_"Come on Lucky, the kid's ten years old just like we were," The red haired Supertrooper snorted. "It's about time he was trained to hunt, right Runt?"_

_Ten year old Shane had no emotions on his face as he finished preparing his gear. "Yes, sir."_

_"Sir? Kid I'm still James Stryker, not an officer," The red haired Supertrooper snorted with laughter. "At least not yet. See anything Luca?" _

_A scarred Supertrooper with scales on his arms grunted. "Nothin' yet but those damn spy cameras." He pointed to several large gray floating cameras. "Heard the Board's really looking forward to this hunt."_

_"Do they always come to watch?" Young Shane asked._

_"That's the purpose of these hunts," Tank laughed. "To prove to 'em that they're only getting the best!" _

_"Just stick close to me kid and follow orders and you'll be okay," Stryker told the boy. "Got it?"_

_"Yes sir," Shane nodded. _

_"Don't see what good he's gonna be," Tank grunted. "Runt ain't even had his growth spurt yet." _

_"He's good with a blaster, that's all that counts," Stryker told him. _

_"Just make sure he stays out of my way," Tank growled. "If anyone's gonna ice Slasher it's me!" _

_"This ain't no time for vengeance Tank," Luca told him. "I know you got a beef with Slasher since way back but Stars…He may be nuts but he's still one of the best Troopers that was ever hatched. You can't go half cocked at him."_

_"Don't tell me what to do Luca," Tank snarled. _

_"Shut up and get ready," Stryker snapped. "We deploy in fifteen seconds and he's out there waiting for us. You know the plan, B formation and watch out for booby traps!" _

_There was a buzzer and the team deployed out. They were in an area that was specifically made to look like a jungle. The team silently made their way through the brush. Shane saw a wire and made a motion to the others. He pointed it out._

_"Good eye kid," Stryker grunted. _

_"Sloppy," Lucky snorted. "That wire's so obvious even the kid can see it. He purposely stepped over it and walked away from it._

_"No! Wait!" Shane shouted. _

_"Lucky you idiot!" Luca shouted. "Don't move! Don't…" _

_BOOOM!_

_An explosion came out from where Lucky was standing. "A second trap! Mine trap only a few steps away from the first one! That's practically Slasher's signature move!" Tank roared. _

_"Guess Lucky finally ran out of luck," Luca snorted as he looked at the body. "Damn I wish our bio-defenses could protect us against explosions."_

_"Well they __**can't **__so keep sharp!" Stryker snapped. A hail of gunfire forced them to scatter. "AMBUSH!" _

_Shane remembered staying close to Stryker, shooting sporadically with him. "That's right kid save your ammo," Stryker warned him. "Don't go blindly shooting until you get a clear target. Oh crap! What the hell…?" _

_Tank had burst out blazing from cover fire. "SLASHER COME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN! COME OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!" _

_"Tank you idiot don't…" Luca shouted as he tried to knock him down but ended up being shot down himself. "AAAHHH!" _

_"Idiots! They're not going by the plan!" Stryker shouted. _

_"Come and get me Tank!" A voice taunted. "If you can!" _

_"You're gonna __**pay**__ for what you did to me!" Tank snarled pointing to his scar. "Hear that! You're gonna pay!" He burst into the undergrowth. A minute later there was a flash of gunfire._

_"Did he…?" Young Shane whispered. _

_"Hey come on out, I got him!" Tank shouted to them._

_Stryker held Shane back. "Don't fall for it," He hissed. "If it was really Tank he'd come out. It's another trick." _

_"I could never fool you could I Jamie?" A tall muscular Supertrooper with dark skin and tattoos on his face exactly like Mata and Hari's walked out. He wore a green coverall with an A branded on it. "You wanna do this man to man or do we have to go with guns blazing?" _

_"Might as well give the humans a fight to talk about," Stryker snarled. He put down his weapon. Young Shane watched as the two fought wildly. At first both troopers seemed equally matched. But a sick snap was heard as Slasher broke Stryker's neck. Slasher then pulled out a knife and stabbed him through the heart, to make sure he was dead._

_Young Shane realized in horror that he was the only one left. _

_"Listen Goose," Slasher looked at him in the eyes. "This isn't personal. I liked you. Out of all of them you were the only one with real potential and you weren't a smart ass about it. But this is now. This is survival of the fittest. The weak must be destroyed."_

_"But I can't just kill you outright can I?" He looked at the camera. "There's no sport in that. So I'm gonna give you five minutes. Run boy. Try and escape me." _

_Young Shane didn't say anything but ran into the jungle. Slasher laughed wildly as he stood there over the bodies of his former comrades. "Did you really think you could all take me down that easily?" He shouted at the cameras floating above. "I told you I was the best and that anything you threw at me I could take! Next time send out a challenge! This is getting boring!" _

_Slasher purposely took off a few weapons from Stryker's body, taking his time. "Place your bets gentlemen, place your bets…How long until I kill the Golden Goose Boy?" Slasher snorted. "Well I guess I gave the kid enough time. It's time to end this hunt." _

_He didn't go far into the jungle when he saw Young Shane standing defiantly in front of him a short distance away. "Slasher!" Young Shane shouted. "I want to challenge you! No weapons! I want to fight you myself!" _

_"Aw kid you're making this too easy for me," Slasher shook his head. "But if you really want to go like Stryker did fine. I'll make it quick. It's a shame this had to happen, and on your first hunt too. But what are you gonna do? You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." _

_"Actually…It's __**you **__who's in the wrong place," Young Shane looked at him. "You're not the only one who can set up a trap." _

_"What do you…?" Slasher looked at him. There was a light whooshing sound. "Huh…" He turned around and a large branch hit him in the face. He stepped backward but wasn't really phased. "Did you really think that little trick would do something!" _

_"Yes," Young Shane smirked. "It distracted you enough for you to fall into it." _

_"What?" Slasher heard a light beeping sound and realized he was standing on a pressure mine. Instinctively he leapt up._

_BOOOOM! _

_"AHHHHH!" Slasher screamed as he lay on the ground, his legs were turned into bloody stumps. _

_"I found one of your own booby traps and just moved the first wire so you wouldn't know where the mine you buried was," Young Shane told him. "Your traps are too easy to find once you know how they work. And you should have been paying closer attention to your surroundings, but then that was never always your strong suit." _

_"Heh…" Slasher panted in agony. "Like I said. You've got potential. I got careless. Should have shot you when I had the chance. Oh well. Nothing personal, right kid?"_

_"Nothing personal," Young Shane's eyes narrowed. _

_Slasher reached for his weapon. _

_Shane was faster._

_ZZZZZZZZZAAAP! _

_"The weak must be destroyed…" Young Shane whispered as he stood over the body. _

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"My God…" Zach felt his stomach turn as he heard the story.

"Anything else Gooseman?" Cain spoke with full authority.

"I…I remember hearing one of the Board of Leaders complain…"Shane told him. "Senator Wheiner complaining that I lost him a lot of money. I don't understand that…"

"It's all right Gooseman, it's better that you don't," Cain grunted.

"My God they were **betting** on…" Zach felt rage enter his body.

"Shh…" Doc shushed him. "Not now…"

"Sir…May I ask you something?" Shane asked.

"Permission granted," Cain said.

"Why?" Shane asked in a far away voice. "Why did I have to be the one to kill my friend?"

"Honestly kid…I don't know," Cain said softly and stepped behind him. "I want you to rest now Trooper. Go to sleep. That's an order."

With a swift movement Cain pulled out a small hypodermic needle from his pocket and stabbed Shane in the shoulder. "Shane!" Niko gasped as she and Doc caught his fall.

"He'll be all right," Cain said. "The drug I gave him will knock him out for a few hours. When he wakes up he'll be himself again."

"Was that necessary?" Doc asked as he lowered his unconscious teammate onto a nearby bed.

"Would you rather he hurt himself or one of us?" Cain asked. "Yes I think under the circumstances it **was **necessary."

"Easy Shane…" Niko gently stroked his hair. "It's going to be all right." She comforted him even though he couldn't hear her.

"I knew Wheiner and a lot of those Board leaders were bastards…" Zach growled. "But forcing the Supertroopers to hunt each other and betting on it…"

"Don't forget who **set up** those hunts in the first place. Take a good look at your friend over there Captain Foxx," Cain said harshly. "And remember **that** the next time you think Commander Walsh is a decent man. I may be a lot of things, but at least I can sleep at night knowing that I didn't torture any kids or send them to their deaths. Can your commander say the same thing?"

Cain paused. "And you know the real kicker about this? Somehow Gooseman is gonna figure out a way to blame all of this on himself. You'll see. He can't help it. It's all that conditioning that's whacked his brain worse than that damned X-Factor ever could. Walsh has got him so wrapped around his finger not even he realizes it…"

"No," Zach shook his head. "Commander Walsh would never have profited from this! He was **forced **to do it by the Board of Leaders!"

"Fine don't believe me," Cain shrugged. "I expect that. Don't trust anybody in authority that's my motto. But that also means don't trust Commander Walsh. Trust me, he's ten times the bastard I am. And that's an accomplishment."

"So what happens now?" Doc asked. "What will happen to the kids?"

"There's only one thing that **can **be done for them I'm afraid," Cain said. "Now that the Board of Leaders knows they exist…"

**Coming up the conclusion! **


	6. Part VI

**Part VI**

Little bits of consciousness slowly opened inside Shane's mind. Groggily he shifted his position slightly. He felt safe and took in the warmth of the body pressed against him.

Slowly he opened his eyes. He was positioned behind Niko, her back to him on a bed in the corner of the room. For a moment he just lay there, slightly bewildered yet strangely happy.

Then partial memories of the night before seeped into his mind.

He drew a sharp breath. Niko turned around at the sound. "Shane?" She looked into his eyes.

"What…?" Shane shook his head in a fruitless effort to remove the memories. "Why..?"

"I…I thought this might calm you down after…" She tried to explain.

"Oh," Shane tensed his shoulders, feeling humiliated and ashamed as he pulled away from her. There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a moment.

"You all know don't you?" Shane said. "About the hunts. About…What I did."

"That wasn't your fault," Niko said gently.

"It's never my fault but I always end up destroying the people around me anyway," Shane said bitterly. "I suppose you and the others feel sorry for me, don't you?"

"I don't pity you Shane," Niko said honestly. "I'm just sorry you were hurt."

"I know you mean well I just…" Shane let out a frustrated breath. "My past it's just…I just want it to **stay** in the past. But it never does. And that's someone no one else should be involved in. I know you don't want me to shut you out but I have to. And don't say that I don't but I do. And that's that."

"All right," Niko gently took his hand. "But if you ever change your mind…"

"I won't," Shane pulled away abruptly. He got up and realized he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Then he remembered. "The kids are…"

"They're still asleep," She said as she stood up. "Zach and the others are watching them."

"All the good that will do," Shane growled. "With Cain knowing about the whole thing they're as good as…" He threw up his hands, frustrated.

"I'm not so sure," Niko thought. "I don't know why but I sense that he wants to help. He helped last night."

"He did?" Shane asked, confused. "What happened?"

"You were…Kind of stuck in a bad place," Niko said gently.

"I didn't hurt…" Shane's eyes widened.

"No, nothing like that," Niko reassured him. "You were more in danger of hurting yourself than us. Cain seemed to know how to get you through it. He talked you down. Don't you remember?"

"It's all kind of fuzzy…" Shane shuddered. "I was…stuck in a bad place but…I guess I thought I was somewhere else. He actually helped me?"

"Yes."

"Why? I don't get it," Shane was stunned. "Cain hates Walsh's guts. He'd never do anything to... And how exactly did he know how to help me in the first place? He never had anything to do with the Supertrooper Project…Or did he?"

"You don't think…?" Niko realized. "He might have been one of the backers for…?"

"I wouldn't put anything past him," Shane growled. "How long was I out?"

"At least seven hours," Niko explained.

"We gotta get the kids out of here before…" He nearly flew out of the room, Niko fast on his heels.

Shane's heart sank when he saw Senator Wheiner with four soldiers behind him. Zach and Doc were confronting him, standing in front of the children. Medea was in a wheelchair and looked very frail but refused to be intimidated. "I will not tell you again Captain Foxx, these Supertroopers are to be remanded to my custody for further study."

"I don't know how you got here so fast slime ball!" Shane snarled as he got in front of Wheiner. "But I know you're leaving empty handed. These kids are sick and need medical treatment!"

"The only treatment those freaks need is the Cryocrypt," One of the soldiers snorted. Shane growled menacingly at him, scaring the soldier a little.

"Go ahead Gooseman," Wheiner snarled. "Give me a reason to take you into custody as well. I'd love nothing more than to shove you into the Cryocrypt along with all the other Supertroopers where you belong!"

"You can't do that remember Wheiner?" Doc pointed out. "Besides you still need Gooseman to hunt down the renegade Supertroopers from Wolf Den."

"Interesting you mention that Ranger Hartford, since he hasn't brought in a single one of them!" Wheiner said. "And we all know he never will! Besides I think maybe Ranger Gooseman has finally snapped and gone insane. It'll be your words against mine and my men. And I can also ruin your reputations as well. So what's it going to be Captain Foxx?"

"Senator or not, if you think I'm just gonna hand those kids over to a slime ball like you so you can just lock them away somewhere think again," Zach growled. "I'm going to contact the League Council and see what **they** say about this."

"I'd be very careful if I were you Captain," Wheiner snarled. "You know the Cryocrypt uses up a lot of power daily to keep it going. It would be a shame if some kind of **accident** happened, wouldn't you say?"

"You wouldn't **dare**…" Zach hissed.

"You are **never** happy are you Wheiner?" Cain walked into the room with Waldo and Zozo behind him. As well as a few solders of his own. "You are always complaining on how Gooseman never brings in any Supertroopers and now he's handed **four** of them to you and you're **still **complaining. Picky, picky, picky."

"These aren't the Supertroopers from Wolf Den!" Wheiner snapped.

"Which means they weren't exposed to X-Factor," Cain said. "Now how **exactly **did that terrible gas leak out into the barracks again? Remind me Wheiner?"

"What are **they**?" Hari's eyes widened at the sight of Waldo and Zozo. "Are those aliens?"

"Can we eat him?" Mata asked pointing to Zozo.

"WHAT?" Zozo did a double take. "Goose!"

"They're aliens but they are also friends of mine," Shane told the children. "And no, you **cannot** eat them."

"I thought aliens were meaner looking and evil," Ryder blinked.

"I assure you we are not," Waldo gave him an amused look. "Some aliens may be but a lot of us are peaceful."

"But the Controllers said…" Hari began.

"The Controllers lied to us about everything else," Ryder interrupted. "Makes sense they'd lie to us about aliens."

"This is an Earth matter," Wheiner sneered at Waldo and Zozo. "You have no right to get involved in this."

"This is **not** just an Earth matter," Waldo gave him a look. "The Charter of the League of Planets specifically states illegal genetic engineering is one of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the entire league. The fact that someone from Earth…Possibly in your government is clearly responsible for this outrage demonstrates the fact that BETA cannot be allowed jurisdiction of this case."

"If they did can you say 'Cover up?' Cain folded his arms. "I knew you could. So the only obvious course is that Earth can't be put in charge of these kids."

"What does that mean?" Mata asked.

"It means that we're not gonna get the Freezer," Ryder explained.

"It also means that you're not weapons anymore," Shane told them. "You four are free."

"Technically you are still minors and will be free when you are twenty one," Waldo corrected. "You will become wards of the League and placed under its protection."

"This isn't over! I'll personally contact the Board of Leaders and…" Wheiner shouted.

"Go ahead," Cain snarled, getting in his face. "But you'll just get nowhere as usual. I'm sure the ambassadors aren't the only ones who know about these children by now. Face it Senator, you and the Board are just going to have to step off of this one and let the League take custody. If you don't it won't you might injure more than your leg on your next **hunting accident?** Got it?"

Wheiner growled and left the room with his soldiers. "So what will happen to the kids?" Shane asked.

"There is a hospital on Andor that specializes in helping children that have been through psychological and physical trauma," Waldo explained. "I hope this does not sound presumptuous of me Ranger Gooseman but I have taken it upon myself to be the children's legal guardian for now."

"No, for their own safety it's best that they stay as far away from Earth as possible," Shane admitted.

"How did you find out about this anyway?" Zach asked.

"A certain **lady friend** of Goose's told us," Zozo winked.

Cain however misinterpreted the wink. "Lady friend eh?" He looked at Niko. "So you **did** have a little charge left after all. Quite ingenious."

"Uh yes," Niko coughed.

Shane knelt down and looked at Medea in the eye. "Feeling better?" She nodded. "Good. It's going to be all right. These people are going to take you to a hospital where you and your brother and sisters will be taken care of and you'll get strong again."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Hari asked.

"He can't stay with us," Ryder gave her a look. "Babysitting isn't his primary function. We'd be in his way."

"That's not true, you'll never be in my way," Shane told him. "We have some of the same donors so that makes us family. Understand?"

"I guess," Ryder shrugged.

"Listen to me," Shane said. "There are those that are purposely going to try and make you lose your temper. You can't give them what they want. Understand? You need to be strong and patient. All of you."

"Is he one of them?" Mata pointed to Waldo. "Or is he good?"

"Yes," Shane smiled. "He is very good. You can trust him. And the Kiwi."

"What about him?" Ryder pointed to Cain.

Cain gave an amused look to Shane's suspicious one. "You might as well not trust me if you want to. It doesn't matter to me. Let's just say I'm not the type to go after small fry like you. I prefer back stabbing grown ups. Much more interesting sport."

He turned to his soldiers. "Let's prepare the ship to go to Andor. We have some very valuable cargo. Ambassador Zozo why don't you help my men get the children comfortable?"

"Goose…?" Ryder looked at Shane.

"Go ahead, I'll be there in a minute," Shane nodded. "Sorry kid you won't get rid of me that easily."

Ryder nodded. "Goose…I…I don't hate you anymore."

"I know," Shane replied gently. "You go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

"Come on kids," Zozo said cheerfully as he started to push Medea's wheelchair. "You'll love Andor. It's a very lovely planet. Full of trees and flowers…"

"What's a flower?" Hari blinked.

"Is the reason we can't eat you is because you taste bad?" Mata asked. "How do you taste anyway?"

"I taste terrible! And that's not a very polite question to ask!" Zozo yelped in horror as the kids were gently led away. "HEY NO BITING!"

"Something tells me you are going to have your hands full Waldo," Doc grinned. "Then again they are related to Goose…"

"They…They've been through a lot," Shane told Waldo. "Physical and mental abuse as well as being…Being abandoned."

"They will need extensive counseling and retraining," Waldo agreed. "I think it might be in their best interests if you worked with them for a few weeks. You seem to be the most qualified and experienced on Supertroopers. The doctors and counselors could use your expertise."

"I guess that's true," Shane sighed. "And…We do share some of the same primary and secondary donors. So technically they're family."

"I'd like to help too if that's possible," Niko volunteered.

"I think I can arrange it with Walsh," Cain smiled. "Something tells me he will be more than cooperative in this situation."

"Why did you help?" Shane asked.

"Like I said I don't like hurting kids," Cain shrugged. "And anything that annoys Wheiner and forces Walsh to do me a favor one of these days is definitely not a waste of my time. Any other questions? Go ahead Gooseman. Try me."

"How do you know so much about Supertroopers?" Shane pressed on. "You were never on the program."

"I needed a hobby and I'm not the bird watching type," Cain said. "The best thing you can do is always know your enemy. Since Walsh and I have been sparring partners back in the day I thought it was a good idea to keep up with what exactly he was working on. You'd be surprised at all the information I have on your kind."

"Enough to make your own secret base to make them?" Shane pressed.

"I also have a lot of information on whales, Ranger," Cain grinned. "That doesn't mean I have one in my bathtub. Sorry kid but you're barking up the wrong tree. You can try to link me with this all you like. But you're just going to be wasting your time. You'll come up empty."

"We'll see…" Shane said simply.

"Walsh has trained you well boy," Cain grinned. "You're almost as good as he is. Trouble is I'm just a little better than the both of you. But I do look forward to sparring with you in the future. I need the exercise and I'm not into aerobics. Ta."

Shane stood there watching Cain as he walked off. "Does anyone have any clue what that man is up to?" Shane grumbled.

"Who knows?" Niko shrugged. "Even with my powers for some reason I can't get a reading. But I don't think he had anything to do with this."

"Yeah he keeps making a point in his speeches on how he doesn't hurt kids," Doc nodded. "Like it's part of his code or something. Seems to have no problem with adults however."

"Maybe he didn't know they were going to be kids there?" Shane theorized. "Maybe he thought they were going to be full grown adults?"

"Or maybe he really did have nothing to do with this?" Zach sighed. "Right now…Right now I just want to go home and give my children a hug."

"Goose…" Doc said gently. "About…About what happened back at Wolf Den. You know that will never happen with us right?"

"I wish I could believe that," Shane hung his head down. "Now do you understand why I don't always…I mean you have to admit my life has been following a certain pattern."

"A pattern which you broke today," Zach reminded him. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You are **not** that man they tried to make you to be. Understand? No matter what you've done in the past…You changed those kids' future. And probably have changed your own."

Shane was silent for a moment. "Do you really think…Do you really believe that I…I won't return to being the person that I was?"

"I **know** you won't," Zach told him with emphasis. "You've proven that over and over. How many times do you have to do it before you believe it yourself?"

"Like the man said, we're your friends my Gooseman," Doc made a thumbs up sign. "We'd sooner let the Queen of the Crown become BETA's new uniform designer."

"We'll never abandon you," Niko put her hand on his other shoulder. "We promise. We'll help you Shane. We'll help you and the young ones. Together we can break the cycle."

Shane made a fist and looked at it. "You're right. I can't do this alone."

"You won't have to," Niko smiled a warm smile at him. Shane felt warm inside just looking at her. He knew he could do anything with his friends by his side.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Hello Garson," Cain smiled as Senator Garson stepped into his office. "Look exactly two hours on the dot. So what do you want to talk to me about. As if I didn't know…"

"Those Supertroopers…They should have been contained!" Garson snapped. "Damn it Cain! Why did you call those aliens in and blow this?"

"First of all **I** didn't call anyone," Cain told him. "The aliens followed **me** to the Galaxy Rangers and the kids. Somehow the Rangers must have gotten the message out to 'em. Probably a telepathic message sent by the psychic. There was no way I could have intercepted **that**. And unlike Wheiner I considered the ramifications of trying to purposely circumvent League Law in front of two ambassadors. Besides, this might work to our advantage after all. Especially if we act nice and pretend to play ball."

"What are you saying? Do you have any idea how dangerous this situation has become?" Garson snapped.

"What danger? You read the report. I assume there was a report which details that the base was completely destroyed even before the planet blew up!" Cain told him. "Those kids know nothing. Any material evidence linking anything to anyone was destroyed in the explosion. All the Rangers and the League have is a group of sick, traumatized children. As far as the Board is concerned, yes they'll be an investigation but as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut and is smart enough not to put any information on their home computer's hard drive no one will find anything. The finger of blame will point to only one person and he's **dead.**"

"You have a point," Garson admitted. "But those Supertroopers…"

"Are only sick children."

"Who will soon become **healthy** children and then healthy mutant **adults!**" Garson snapped.

"Garson you wouldn't know a golden opportunity if it stepped on your toes wearing a banner and singing 'Golden Opportunities Are Here Again,'," Cain snapped. "You know you people on the Board are so thick it's scary."

"Enlighten me please," Garson folded his arms.

"Didn't any of you people on the Board ever wonder **why** Gooseman has become such a loyal and valuable ranger?" Cain asked. "He was bred to be one yes but there's another reason. A very simple reason that even a child could figure out."

"And that is?" Garson asked.

"Because Commander Walsh treated him with **kindness** as well as discipline," Cain said. "Like any animal if you use that simple approach your efforts will be rewarded tenfold."

"I suppose you do make an excellent case," Garson grunted. "Lord knows the whole program ran a lot smoother when we allowed Walsh to have complete control. Allowing outsiders and so called 'experts' to evaluate the program was a mistake."

"Like when you let Wheiner use the X-Factor?" Cain asked.

"I had nothing to do with that!" Garson snapped. "I read Dr. Nagata's report and vetoed the use of X-Factor myself! There was only a month to go in the program and I had millions of dollars invested in it! Why would I want to see it destroyed?"

"No, you wouldn't," Cain thought. "But someone did. Someone who didn't really care about your profits. Or worse…Wanted to make sure you did lose your shirt. We need to be very careful here. There is a chance that the Supertroopers weren't the real target at all."

"But I and the others **were?**" Garson realized. "A lot of us came close to…God I should have known!"

"I'm going to say something straight out," Cain decided to go for broke. "You're part of a certain organization among the Board of Leaders aren't you? No need to say it's name. And that organization does have a lot of enemies. And hitting you through the Supertrooper project nearly did bankrupt you didn't it?"

"Came too close for our liking," Garson growled.

"Luckily for you, there's now a way to **recoup** some of your losses," Cain told him. "With these four young troopers. Once they grow up that is."

"They're now in League custody," Garson gave him a look.

"A minor technically," Cain shrugged. "And they won't be minors forever. We can wait. We already have Gooseman…Not to mention Ranger Niko as well."

"Niko? But wait a minute…She's…" Cain began.

"I wouldn't exactly call Ranger Niko a hundred percent **human **now would I?" Cain asked. "In fact her and Gooseman…Might be a very interesting combination."

"You are actually suggest that we breed…?" Garson gasped.

"I wouldn't go **that** far," Cain sat back and sipped his drink. "But their powers do come in handy don't they? And if the two just happen to start dating and I know for a fact that they are rather close…Well…I don't see the harm in sitting back and letting nature take it's course. Or if God forbid there was an accident and one or both of them died…We'd have the bodies and their DNA to work with. It's all a matter of being patient and reaping the rewards. As long as there are no **impatient idiots** around to screw it up if you get my drift?"

Garson gave Cain a careful look. "You really are quite the strategist aren't you? No wonder you've risen so well and quickly in the ranks. Maybe we could use a man like you after all? So what do you want?"

"Same thing everyone wants," Cain shrugged. "Money, power, weekends off…"

"You know what I want," Garson leaned forward. "What sort of blackmail Wheiner has on Walsh?"

"Oh come now Garson, you don't really think I'd give it to you just like **that **now do you?" Cain smirked. "Not at the beginning of our partnership at least. Besides, I like having something on Walsh even if I have to share it with the Weasel."

"Why do you hate Walsh anyway?" Garson asked.

"I never did really, he hates me for well…Something that happened long ago," Cain sighed. "Nothing to do with the Supertrooper project. It's…Personal. Well that and the fact I always thought he was a sanctimonious son of a bitch who is the biggest hypocrite I ever met."

"Cain…" Garson smirked. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So you took care of it huh?" Wheiner hissed into his personal com link to the unknown voice. "Got rid of Gooseman for good huh? Well guess what? He's back and now he's got four mutant brats with him!"

"Don't you dare pin this on me Wheiner," The voice snarled. "We both know once again you failed to clean up after your own mess!"

"What do you mean you…?" Wheiner began.

"Shut up! They didn't get **all** of the late senator's files," The voice interrupted him. "Fortunately for me I was able to obtain a copy of the late senator's secret account book before his demise. So I **know** Wheiner. I know you secretly used funds to fund both the Australian Supertrooper base **and** the base on Romulus 34. Even after the failure of the original project you still funded the project in secret."

"It was necessary since it was pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that Gooseman would fail to bring in the renegades," Wheiner hissed. "Not even Garson could figure that out!"

"More like have a back up plan and something to raise your bank account," The voice said. "But didn't you think it was odd that after two years no one called you?"

"I did get a call but they said that…" Wheiner began then shut up.

"So there **was** someone else on the Board in it with you," The voice said triumphantly. "Don't bother to deny it. I think I know who. It's just lucky for us you never took a trip to Romulus 34."

"Yes well Gooseman's luck is going to fail sooner or later," Whiener's voice was filled with hate.

"That we **both** agree on," The voice told him. "But from now on our financial situation is going to be a lot different. From now on, **you** are going to **pay me** a nice monthly bonus. Double what I paid you should do it."

"Oh no you don't," Wheiner snarled. "Both of us have a lot to lose if this gets out! There's no way I am paying you a dime!"

"**Try** to smear my name publicly Wheiner," The voice challenged. "Remember I have the ledger. We'll see who the public believes."

Wheiner fumed. "You dirty…"

"Blackmailer? Look who's talking," The voice said. "I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine. I'll expect a check by the end of the week."

Wheiner furiously threw a nearby paperweight at a window in his office after the voice hung up on him. "I am sick of this! Sick of how I've been treated! For the past six years I've been treated like a common stooge! Well no more! Walsh was bad enough but now Cain and…And that…That…"

"All right," Wheiner snarled. "That's it. This is war. I've had enough. They are all going to learn a lesson about crossing me. Especially that Supertrooper!"

Wheiner punched up some information on his personal computer. "Fortunately for me there are other players in this little power game and I know just what they want and how to contact them!"

He punched up an image of Shane on the computer alongside the data of his genetic background. "When I am finished with you Gooseman you, your so called 'father' and all your freak friends are going to wish you were never born! You are going to pay Gooseman and if I have to take out every single Galaxy Ranger and anyone else that gets in my way so be it! But I promise you, you will **pay!"**


End file.
